Texas computer maker Dell Inc. could offer to buy Hopkinton-based EMC Corp. for $30 per share, or as much as $58 billion, enough to make it the largest-ever tech deal if the purchase closes.
That's according to a report from CNBC, which said that a Dell deal for EMC (NYSE: EMC) could come as soon as early next week.
EMC shares rose more than 2 percent Friday to $27.79 as of 2 p.m.
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Rumors have swirled for the past year about EMC's (NYSE: EMC) fate after activist investor Elliott Management pressured EMC to spin off its 80 percent stake in cloud software company VMWare Inc.(NYSE: VMW). CNBC also reported the Dell deal would include VMWare.
According the the Wall Street Journal, a deal in the range of $50 billion would qualify as the tech industry's largest ever. Currently, the largest deal on record is this year's $36.6 billion acquisition of Broadcom by Avago Tech.
Reuters reported last week that Elliott planned to give EMC most of October to respond to its demands. Elliott had signed a truce with EMC that lasted until September, but that agreement has since expired.
Elliott owns a 1.75 percent stake in EMC and added 100,000 shares this past June.
VMWare, 80 percent of which is owned by EMC, reported $6.04 billion in revenue last year while EMC itself reported about $24 billion in sales.