DELL EXPANDS INTO TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

       Giant computer-maker Dell will spend US$3.9 billion (Bt131 billion) to acquire technology-services company Perot Systems in a bid to expand beyond the PC business and compete more aggressively with Hewlett-Packard, which recently bought another tech-services company founded by Texas billionaire H Ross Perot.
       Dell on Monday said it would offer $30 a share in cash for Perot Systems, a 68-per-cent premium over its closing prices last Friday.
       Former presidential candidate H Ross Perot Sr, 79, serves as chairman emeritus of Perot Systems, which he founded in 1988. An April regulatory filing showed Perot and related trusts controlled at least 25 per cent of the company's stock, although the beneficiary of those shares was not clear. The company did not respond to a request for comment on Perot's stake.
       Perot made a fortune from founding Electronic Data Systems in 1962 and selling it to General Motors in a 1984 deal worth $2.5 billion. Hewlett-Packard bought EDS last year for $13.9 billion as it, too, tried to augment its services offerings and diversity beyond hardware.
       In a conference call with analysts, Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell said Perot Systems would serve as an "anchor" acquisition for a global informationa-technology-services business.
       Perot Systems, which is based in Texas, would bring Dell more than 1,000 customers, including the United States military and the Homeland Security Department. About 48 per cent of Perot Systems' revenue comes from the healthcare industry and 25 per cent from the government. Last year, Perot Systems earned $117 million from sales totalling $2.8 billion.
       Dell's services business is more basic than those of its larher competitors, and its revenue comes mainly from the hard-hit PC business. As a result, Dell's profits have been slumping and were down 23 per cent year on year in the second quarter.
       Perot Systems would add consulting and other kinds of computing services, such as "systems integration", to Dell's line-up.
       "This would, at least from a product standpoint, make them definitely more competitive with HP and IBM," said Kaufman Brothers analyst Shaw Wu. "It's a step in the right direction."
       Wu said Dell's hardware business could benefit from exposure to Perot Systems' customers seeking one provider for multiple technology needs. Combining the businesses could also help Dell find new ways to cut costs.
       However, Dell's technical services business would still be relatively small; EDS has revenue of $21 billion before HP bought it, while IBM's services revenue was $59 billion last year.