It all started with Dell’s initial $1.15 billion bid for 3Par Inc. a few weeks ago, then HP countered with a higher bid that started the bidding war between both companies.    HP currently has the highest  bid with a $2 billion dollar offer for 3Par, leaving Dell wondering about its next move in this strategic chess match.   “We're assessing what our next step will be," Dell spokesman David Frink stated.  As the cloud computing market heats up, both Dell and HP see 3Par’s storage technology as a great compliment to their respective product lines.   The question of how much HP or Dell is willing to pay for 3Par, Inc. may be answered in the near future.  "If HP is able to rapidly ramp up 3Par's sales, it can certainly justify the price they're offering to pay for it," says Stan Zaffos, research vice president at Gartner.

3Par stock price closed out at $31.82 on Monday, as the market factored in even more upside into the stock price, as a follow-on offer from Dell is widely anticipated.  "There probably is going to be one more round of this, bringing the price to around $32,” stated Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.   3Par share holders are reaping the benefits of owning a company that has the right technology and the right time.

Related Link:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-08-31-3par31_ST_N.htm