Cisco-EMC: The Next Great Tech Deal or Just Idle Speculation?

Posted May 19, 2008 04:55pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing, Data Storage, Networking and Communication, Venture Capital, M and A, IPOs

Related: CSCO, EMC, VMW, INTC

A lackluster finish took some shine off the tech stocks, which began Monday with a big deal-induced rally.

While renewed talks between Microsoft and Yahoo got most of the media attention, many traders were buzzing about a Barron's story on the possibility of a Cisco-EMC merger. I delved into the details of such a combination with the author of that story, Barron's West Coast editor Eric Savitz.

Beyond EMC's networking storage business, the company's majority ownership of VMWare and software units such as RSA would help Cisco make a big step beyond its core networking communications business, Savitz says.

Stressing this is just speculation, Savitz says Cisco has both the money and the motivation to buy EMC. While deal rumors have persisted for months, he says, "If [Cisco CEO John] Chambers has ever thought about buying EMC, he might not get a better price than today's."