Quest Software (QSFT) is on a quest to maximize value for its shareholders. In March the company agreed to be bought by Insight Venture Partners for $23 per share. Now Quest says it has a new bid at $25.50 per share, or $2.15 billion, and Reuters says it has confirmed that Dell (DELL) is the bidder.
Dell has been moving aggressively to expand its cloud computing solutions for enterprise customers, most recently with its acquisitions of Wyse and Clerity. Quest and Dell have worked as partners for eight years, with Dell supplying hardware and Quest supplying software to corporate customers.
Quest makes software to manage databases and networks, and is now very focused on the management of mobile devices. The company’s Quest Management Xtensions solution extends Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager to iOS and Android devices.
Insight has 3 days to match or beat the higher offer. If Quest walks away from its deal with Insight, it will have to pay the venture capital firm a breakup fee of up to $6.3 million, a tiny fraction of the deal value.
Follow me on Twitter.
