StorageTek touts for potential buyer

US Storage vendor, StorageTek, has announced it may be looking for a buyer in the wake of a profits warning last week.

StorageTek is employing Goldman Sachs and McKinseys to help it consider "strategic alternatives" that include "a sale, merger or partnerships". It is also considering a financial restructuring and divestitures.

Last week the Colorado-based company revised its third quarter results forecasts, saying that earnings will be drastically below analysts' estimates. It blamed the sluggish performance on lower product revenues and market distortions resulting from Y2K problems.

Chris Boorman, marketing director for Veritas which is one of StorageTek's software suppliers, said the news was unsurprising given the consolidation currently occuring in the storage market. "There is a massive change taking place," he said. "The storage market is becoming vastly more competitive."

A report in today's Wall Street Journal named Sun Microsystems as a potential suitor for the storage group.

For more background see Silicom.com's 23 September article http://www.silicon.com/a32927 .