The Wall Street Journal
Hewlett-Packard Co.'s bidding war with rival Dell Inc. over 3PAR Inc. has created a $2.1 billion windfall for insiders and investors at the small data-storage company, but the proceeds won't be evenly split.
Nearly $800 million will go to three venture-capital firms—Mayfield Fund, Menlo Ventures and Worldview Technology Partners—that remain among the Fremont, Calif., company's biggest shareholders. Collectively the three still own 38% of 3PAR.
Almost $100 million will go to 3PAR's chief executive, David Scott. His payout eclipses the combined proceeds for the company's three founders.
Mr. Scott, who left H-P to become 3PAR's CEO in 2001, owned 2.9 million 3PAR shares as of June 30, according to a recent regulatory filing. At the $33-a-share deal price, the executive's 4.6% stake in the company is worth $95.7 million.
Jeffrey Price, one of the founders and the "P" in 3PAR, will walk away with $41.4 million for his 2% stake. Ashok Singhal, the founder who contributed the "A" to the company name, owned 570,000 shares as of June 3, which would give him $18.8 million in the deal.
Messrs. Price and Singhal, who had been engineers at Sun Microsystems before starting 3PAR, remain employees of the company and share the title of chief technical officer. The third founder and the "R" in the company name, Robert Rogers, left in 2001 and was replaced as CEO by Mr. Scott. 3PAR declined to say how many shares, if any, Mr. Rogers still holds.
Outsiders too have seen the value of their holdings grow. Fidelity Research & Management, whose mutual funds held a 12.2% stake in 3PAR as of June 30, was the largest institutional shareholder. The value of its stake has tripled to $252 million, if Fidelity has held onto its shares.
3PAR was founded in 1999 and sold shares in a recapitalization round in early 2004 to new and existing investors. It went public Nov. 16, 2007, at $14 a share, but its stock soon slumped and was trading below $10 before H-P and Dell opened their bidding war last month.
Mayfield Fund, Menlo Ventures, Worldview Technology Partners and a number of others invested a total of $183 million into 3PAR over the years. After the IPO, they mostly held onto their stakes. Mayfield and Worldview declined to comment. Menlo didn't respond to requests for comment.
At H-P's $33 offer price, Menlo stands to take home $309.3 million, Worldview would receive $276.6 million and Mayfield, $204.6 million. That collective $790.5 million is more than three times the $231 million value of their holdings about a month ago.
Nearly $800 million will go to three venture-capital firms—Mayfield Fund, Menlo Ventures and Worldview Technology Partners—that remain among the Fremont, Calif., company's biggest shareholders. Collectively the three still own 38% of 3PAR.
Almost $100 million will go to 3PAR's chief executive, David Scott. His payout eclipses the combined proceeds for the company's three founders.
Mr. Scott, who left H-P to become 3PAR's CEO in 2001, owned 2.9 million 3PAR shares as of June 30, according to a recent regulatory filing. At the $33-a-share deal price, the executive's 4.6% stake in the company is worth $95.7 million.
Jeffrey Price, one of the founders and the "P" in 3PAR, will walk away with $41.4 million for his 2% stake. Ashok Singhal, the founder who contributed the "A" to the company name, owned 570,000 shares as of June 3, which would give him $18.8 million in the deal.
Messrs. Price and Singhal, who had been engineers at Sun Microsystems before starting 3PAR, remain employees of the company and share the title of chief technical officer. The third founder and the "R" in the company name, Robert Rogers, left in 2001 and was replaced as CEO by Mr. Scott. 3PAR declined to say how many shares, if any, Mr. Rogers still holds.
Outsiders too have seen the value of their holdings grow. Fidelity Research & Management, whose mutual funds held a 12.2% stake in 3PAR as of June 30, was the largest institutional shareholder. The value of its stake has tripled to $252 million, if Fidelity has held onto its shares.
3PAR was founded in 1999 and sold shares in a recapitalization round in early 2004 to new and existing investors. It went public Nov. 16, 2007, at $14 a share, but its stock soon slumped and was trading below $10 before H-P and Dell opened their bidding war last month.
Mayfield Fund, Menlo Ventures, Worldview Technology Partners and a number of others invested a total of $183 million into 3PAR over the years. After the IPO, they mostly held onto their stakes. Mayfield and Worldview declined to comment. Menlo didn't respond to requests for comment.
At H-P's $33 offer price, Menlo stands to take home $309.3 million, Worldview would receive $276.6 million and Mayfield, $204.6 million. That collective $790.5 million is more than three times the $231 million value of their holdings about a month ago.
