Dell agrees to buy software firm Quest for $2.4bn

Dell has agreed to buy Quest Software, which makes programs to manage corporate computer systems, for $28 a share, ending a bidding contest with Insight Venture Partners.

Quest employs 220 people at its Citygate Business Park Mahon Point offices in Cork and 3,900 worldwide.

The acquisition is worth $2.4bn (€1.9bn), net of cash and debt, the Texas-based Dell said in a joint statement with Quest. The transaction is expected to close in Dell’s fiscal third quarter.