Dell makes move into Corporate Services; Acquires Perot Systems for $3.9B

Back in May, Dell hired David Johnson away from IBM to become its new M&A chief.

4 Months later, that move has provided dividends as the Wall Street Journal reported today that Dell has reached agreement with Perot Systems to acquire the corporate dataservices provider for $3.9B.

The move helps address some of the needs that Dell must address in its battle to remain competitive in the PC technology space. Long criticized for not having a services business to compete with HP, this move should help the company provide a well-rounded suite of service offerings to its Enterprise customers.

However, the Perot deal is not a panacea by any means. Dell still has to develop strong plans to strengthen its business outside of the US and Europe, where its most comfortable, and find ways to drive significant volumes of PCs in these low-cost / low-price markets.

Dell’s stock is indicating an open above $17/share and has performed well since hitting a low of mid 8’s this year. CEO Michael Dell is still under pressure from investors and analysts as the stock has not performed since its highs in the low 40’s back in 2005.