Open Text to Buy Dell EMC Enterprise Content Division

Canadian information-technology provider Open Text Corp. on Monday said it agreed to buy the enterprise content division of the newly merged Dell Inc. and EMC Corp. for $1.62 billion.

The deal, which includes the software, associated services and employees of the former EMC division, is the latest for Waterloo, Ontario-based Open Text and expands its content-management product offerings.

The move comes days after Dell and EMC completed their megamerger to form Dell Technologies Inc. and is the first public step as the technology giant works to streamline the world's largest privately controlled tech company.

Open Text said it gains a host of content-management software under the deal, including the Documentum, InfoArchive and LEAP products.

"This acquisition further strengthens OpenText as a leader in enterprise information management, enabling customers to capture their digital future and transform into information-based businesses," OpenText Chief Executive Mark J. Barrenechea said in a joint announcement with Dell.

The unit provides companies with ways of managing and sharing company documents and information. Open Text helps organizations find, use and share business information from both structured forms and free-form sources.

Dell Technologies wants to be able to focus on what the company sees as a consolidation in the market for conventional servers and storage hardware and also invest in upcoming technologies such as the Internet of Things, the evolution of cloud computing, cybersecurity and predictive analytics.

Open Text said it expects the purchase to immediately boost earnings. Closing is expected within the next four months, it said, subject to regulatory approvals.

Open Text, which had fiscal 2016 revenue of $1.8 billion, had made a number of smaller acquisitions in recent months. In July, it closed its purchase of information-analytics firm Recommind Inc., for an undisclosed amount. That followed a deal in June to buy certain customer-communications management assets from HP Inc. for around $315 million.

Austen Hufford contributed to this article.

Write to Judy McKinnon at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 12, 2016 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)

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