Dell makes $67bn bet on EMC in tech history's largest acquisition

Largest-ever tech deal helps world's third-largest computer maker to tap into faster-growing market for managing and storing data

American computer company Dell is buying digital storage giant EMC for $67bn in the largest tech acquisition in history and a move that marks another transformation for the once pre-eminent maker of consumer PCs.

Shares of EMC surged on news of the deal. Dell, by contrast, is not publicly traded. Founder and CEO Michael Dell took the company private at a price of $25bn in 2013 largely to escape the clutches of investors who wanted to oust him (notable among them activist investor Carl Icahn).