It seems analyst were right as to who would win the bidding war over global provider of utility storage 3PAR. But with $115bn annual revenue –compared with Dell's $53bn - this should come as no surprise.

Indeed, given HP’s size and global presence, it is also likely to obtain a return on investment than Dell would have been able to get.

The definitive agreement HP and 3PAR have entered into sees HP purchase 3PAR, for $2.35bn. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

The decision comes after a couple of weeks of intense bidding where the price of 3Par shares escalated from $18 (when Dell made its original offer on 16 August) to $33 per share which HP will pay in cash.

HP’s cash tender offer commenced on 27 August 2010 and it is scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time on 24 September 2010, subject to customary tender offer conditions being satisfied.

The merger will speed up HP’s Converged Infrastructure strategy and drive growth in key storage markets and strengthen its storage, server and networking product offering.

The final closing of the acquisition is expected to occur by the end of the calendar year. As for the termination of the previous agreement with Dell, 3PAR paid Dell the required $72m fee.