VMware Windfall for Cisco, Intel Hits $1B

VMWare shares gained another $3.62 per share today to $88.62. Among the happy shareholders are Intel (INTC) and Cisco (CSCO), who will reap one-day paper gains of $34.4 million and $22.6 million, respectively. Not bad for a day's ticker watching. The two tech titans have made out well on their pre-IPO investments in VMWare, as noted recently by the Deal Journal blog. There are compelling strategic rationales for the investments in VMWare (VMW), the virtualization market leader. But the bottom line has turned out nicely as well.

Shares of VMWare have gained tripled since the EMC unit went public at $29 a share on Aug. 14. Intel paid $23 a share for its 9.5 million stake in VMWare, which translates into a gain of $623 million since the IPO. Cisco invested $150 million and is now ahead $410 million on its VMWare shares. That's a combined $1.03 billion in paper profits between them.