Over at The Register, they’re having Friday fun with industry rumors.
They kick off proceedings with scuttlebutt that Brocade is a potential acquisition target for IBM, Dell, and Juniper. True, Brocade recently said it was off the market, and it rolled out a data-center strategy that suggested it was planning to remain an independent entity well into the future.
Or perhaps not. It wouldn’t be the first time a company that desperately wants to be acquired did not want to appear as though it desperately wants to be acquired. Keeping up appearances frequently entails putting on a facade.
I’m not saying that’s what Brocade is doing now, but it wouldn’t come as a shock to discover that a “for sale” notice has been discreetly and furtively distributed to certain parties. The company clearly was in play last fall. It and its agents weren’t shy about letting the world know which suitors were interested, or might be interested, in corporate matrimony.
Of those mentioned currently as prospective Brocade buyers, Juniper would seem the least likely candidate. It’s possible that Dell might be interested, but I’m not sure the folks in Round Rock are ready to pull the trigger on a networking deal at this sort of scale. IBM? I don’t know whether it wants to be directly involved in the network-infrastructure game.
The other rumor mooted by The Register involves Dell buying Commvault. The Register dismisses that one summarily, and I tend to think that ship has sailed, too.
Twilight in the Valley of the Nerds 