Dell Makes $155 Million Acquisition Of MessageOne

At first glance, the random acquisition of an email services company doesn't sound all that intriguing.  But Dell spent $155 million for MessageOne, so it's pretty noteworthy from a business perspective.  And to make matters even more interesting, MessageOne's cofounder is the brother of Michael Dell.

Both companies have worked to prove that the acquisition isn't an example of nepotism, however.  Going into the deal, it seems that boards of directors, groups of investors, and Morgan Stanley all had their say (and said "yea").  Also, after the acquisition, Michael Dell will apparently donate to charity the money that he, his wife, and his children's trust would have received.Direct2Dell blog.

"We couldn't have asked for a better illustration for the importance of e-mail continuity," Schuckenbrock then continued.  "To realize the promise of e-mail continuity though we need a new way for delivering services."

Some onlookers are bound to remain suspicious -