Data storage companies focus on flash M&A potential

Coming in at number four is Dell Inc. spending $2.4 billion on Quest Software, making it the biggest acquisition price on our list, but not the most significant for data storage. That's because the Quest backup portfolio includes additional products such as vRanger for virtual machines and the NetVault family of physical data protection products. Dell showed determination to seal the deal for Quest and its backup technology. It won out after three bidding rounds against Insight Venture Partners, costing Quest (and ultimately Dell) a $25 million breakup fee and $12 million in expenses to Insight.