Dell may have dropped out to Hewlett-Packard in the bidding war for storage vendor 3Par before this month, but the computer manufacturer wasn't hurt by the decision to pass away. "At similar point, gaining is losing. You get the company, but it's way too high-priced," stated, vice president of strategy and technology at Dell's enterprise solutions group, throughout an interview in Singapore. Dell walked away from the bidding for 3Par on Sept. 2, after the company rejected Dell's $32 per share bid in favor of a $33 per share offer from Hewlett-Packard.

The decision to not raise Dell's offer was made because the company felt it wouldn't make its money back on the deal at a higher price, Asthana said. "It's not a beneficial use of stockholder wealth; I'd instead put it in the bank then spend that wealth and not get it back," he stated. Whether HP paid to gain 3Par remains to be seen. The concept of the success curse the economic equivalent of a Phyrric victory depicts the potential outcome when a company wins an auction or bidding war to gain an asset. By offering to pay the highest price for 3Par, HP valued the company higher than Dell or other potency buyers but took chances overpaying for th conclusion company.