Dell’s 2015 acquisition of EMC helped create the largest technology acquisition at that time.
Dell announced its agreement to acquire EMC in October 2015 for approximately $67 billion, and the transaction closed in September 2016. The deal created Dell Technologies, a broad enterprise-technology company combining Dell’s computers and servers with EMC’s storage products and VMware stake.
The purchase was notable because EMC was a major publicly traded technology company and the transaction was financed through a complicated combination of cash, debt, and tracking stock. Michael Dell led the combined company, while EMC chief executive Joe Tucci departed after the deal closed.
The acquisition mattered to market-cap discussions because it removed EMC from the public market and reshaped the competitive landscape for large technology vendors. It is not the same as Dell’s earlier privatization in 2013, which was a buyout of Dell itself. Nor should the deal be confused with later semiconductor and software acquisitions, which changed the ranking of the largest technology transactions.