3Par's New Deal With Dell Has Another Out Clause

In a statement released by 3Par, the storage company said it has revised its merger agreement with Dell to reflect the new offer price of $24.30 per share. However, it also notes a revised termination fee of $72 million. That's in the event that 3Par receives and accepts another unsolicited proposal that the board determines to be superior to Dell's increased offer.

So will Hewlett-Packard (which trumped Dell's original offer of $16 per share with a $24-per-share offer) or another company look to outbid Dell again? Only time will tell.

In a statement, 3Par talks about Dell's desire to acquire 3Par, noting that its utility storage solution is important to Dell's customers and will enhance its position in cloud-based storage applications.

"3Par's multitenant, clustered architecture enables IT organizations to deliver software and hardware as a service, offering an agile, efficient storage infrastructure platform optimized for highly virtualized data centers and cloud computing. Additionally, with its global reach, Dell believes it will be able to drive greater deployment and penetration of 3Par's products, accelerating Dell's momentum in delivering open, capable and affordable storage options," the statement read.

"3Par's board has unanimously recommended that its shareholders accept Dell's offer," the statement continued.

Dell's tender offer to 3Par shareholders will expire on Sept. 20, unless extended, according to 3Par.

Executives at HP, which announced its bid Monday, could not be reached for immediate comment.