Dell and Compellent Technologies today announced they are engaged in advanced discussions regarding a possible business combination involving the two companies.

Dell and Compellent have entered into an exclusivity agreement to negotiate a merger agreement in which Dell would acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Compellent at a price of $27.50 per share in cash.

There can be no assurances that an agreement will be reached, and Dell and and Compellent said that they did not intend to comment further until an agreement is reached or discussions are terminated.

Compellent Technologies provides Fluid Data storage solutions that automate the movement and management of data at a granular level, enabling organisations to constantly adapt to change, slash costs and secure information against downtime and disaster.