EMC to Acquire Avamar Technologies

HOPKINTON, Mass., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EMC Corporation, the world leader in information management and storage, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Avamar Technologies, Inc., a fast-growing provider of enterprise-class data protection software featuring industry-leading data de-duplication technology. EMC will acquire the Irvine, California-based company in a cash transaction valued at approximately $165 million. The acquisition is expected to be completed within 30 days and is not expected to have a material impact on EMC's revenue or EPS for 2006.

Winner of this year's Storage magazine "Product of the Year" award for best backup and recovery software, Avamar advances EMC's core strengths in information protection and recovery management, radically changing the way customers protect their data and accelerating the widespread move from tape to disk-based recovery solutions.

Mark Sorenson, EMC Senior Vice President, Information Management Software, said, "The overwhelming value proposition of backup-to-disk is getting stronger by the day. Most recently, the limitations of tape-based backup have inspired the creation of new technology such as data de-duplication to significantly alter the cost and efficiency equation for disk-based backup. Avamar is acknowledged as the industry's best at helping customers transcend the shortcomings of traditional tape-based methods, thereby accelerating the ongoing shift to disk as the de facto backup and recovery medium."

"From the very beginning, we've had a clear vision of completely transforming how customers backup and protect their information," said Ed Walsh, CEO of Avamar. "Avamar was first to market with global data de-duplication technology. As a result, our market traction has been exceptional with customers around the globe. Joining EMC will allow us to take our vision to the next level and accelerate adoption of this disruptive technology."

"Companies are making significant investments today to improve their methods for data protection and data recovery," said John McArthur, Group Vice President and General Manager at IDC. "EMC's acquisition of Avamar brings innovative data protection technology and another creative team into the EMC portfolio, while Avamar gains a powerful channel for the company's solutions."

Avamar's software utilizes patented data de-duplication technology to backup data once -- and only once -- on a global basis. Avamar identifies redundant data segments at the source, thereby reducing the amount of network bandwidth used and data stored. Using this and other patented Avamar technology, customers can achieve an industry leading 300:1 daily data reduction in real-world applications.

Avamar already leverages EMC's broad portfolio of offerings, such as EMC(R) CLARiiON(R) as a target for disk-based backup and EMC Centera(TM) for long-term archiving. For customers that require both disk- and tape-based data protection solutions, Avamar has been designed to work in a complementary fashion with existing products like EMC NetWorker(TM).

Upon completion, Avamar will be integrated into EMC's Storage Product Operations (SPO) group. Avamar CEO Ed Walsh will report directly to Mark Sorenson.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is the world leader in products, services and solutions for information management and storage that help organizations extract the maximum value from their information, at the lowest total cost, across every point in the information lifecycle. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at http://www.emc.com/.

EMC and CLARiiON are registered trademarks, and Centera and NetWorker are trademarks of EMC Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) risks associated with acquisitions and investments, including the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (iv) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (v) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (vi) component and product quality and availability; (vii) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (viii) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (ix) war or acts of terrorism; (x) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xi) fluctuating currency exchange rates; and (xii) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

CONTACT: Dave Farmer 508-293-7206 EMC Corporation