DDUP juice is spilling everywhere: FTC beats out DOJ for antitrust ruling

The Data Domain acquisition saga continues to generate great soap singing.  People wanting to read about market size definitions for antitrust cases might find this article interesting. (OK, I linked to this piece back on June 2 too, but I STILL think its relevant)

You know you're hot when different government legal organizations are vying for position.  What's next? A ruling and then lawsuits, or just a cascade of lawsuits in all directions?  Whatever, this thing is going to go down as easy as the bull testicles on "get me out of here".(begins at the 5 minute mark in the video)

At this point EMC is screwed if they try to raise their offer as some have suggested if this deal comes down to a ruling about anti-trust. I have to say, the Netapp legal team seems to be doing a very good job of positioning what many observers believe is an inferior offer to EMC's cash-out option.

Then there is the VC angle. A really big win for Greylock and NEA.  For everybody wondering what all those crazy VCs were thinking when they invested all over the place in the storage industry 8-12 years ago - this is exactly what they were hoping for. It's good money when you can get it.

Comments

[Matt]

You make an interesting about EMC being screwed if they raise their price while under anti-trust scrutiny. Do you think they they might be having second thoughts? They already have the technology through their licensing with Quantum, who has a cross-license with Data Domain - and oh by the way do hostile takeovers work in tech?

[marc farley]

At this point I expect that both companies are having second thoughts. There seems to be a lot at stake and its very public. Then there are the distractions for both companies. But, its the summer when news tends to slow down in our business, so maybe its OK.