Data Domain, Inc. Shareholder: Investigations allege unfair takeover

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun 09, 2009 -
SAN DIEGO, CA (Shareholders Foundation) -- An investigation by a law firm on behalf of current investors in Data Domain, Inc.(Public, NASDAQ:DDUP), who purchased their shares before May 20, 2009, over potential breach of fiduciary duty by the board of directors of Data Domain, Inc. was announced.

If you are a current investor in Data Domain, Inc.(Public, NASDAQ:DDUP) and purchased your shares before May 20, 2009, you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc. immediately at:

Email: mail@shareholdersfoundation.com

Or call us at: +1 (858) 779 - 1554

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, proposed to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Data Domain, Inc. (Nasdaq: DDUP) for $30.00 per share in cash, a transaction with a total enterprise value of approximately $1.8 billion. EMC's all-cash proposal was superior to the proposed NetApp transaction until NetApp countered Wednesday with a matching bid composed of a mix of stock and cash. EMC's proposal is not subject to a financing or due diligence contingency, and the company will use existing cash balances to finance the transaction. EMC is promptly commencing a tender offer for all outstanding Data Domain common stock in order to expedite the timing of this transaction. The proposal was unanimously approved by the EMC Board of Directors. Previously to NetApps machting bid  NetApp Inc. announced last week that it agreed to buy data backup and disaster recovery systems provider Data Domain Inc.(Public, NASDAQ:DDUP) for $25 per share in cash and stock. Under the terms of the NetApp offer, Data Domain shareholders will receive $11.45 in cash and between 0.682 and 0.833 shares of NetApp stock for each share of Data Domain they own. Based on the closing price of NetApp stock prior to the announcement, the transaction is valued at approximately $25 per share, or about $1.5 billion. NetApp intends to operate Data Domain as a product line within NetApp’s product operations organization. NetApp said it has the "distribution channels and international reach to offer Data Domain products to more customers, accelerating growth and market adoption."
Data Domain later Wednesday signed NetApp's sweetened agreement, but it said Thursday it is reviewing EMC's offer and will comment on it by June 16, 2009
Subsequently an investigation by a law firm was announced and the investigation focuses on breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law by the Board of Directors of Data Domain arising out of their agreement to sell Data Domain to NetApp. The transaction, so the investigation, appears to be unfair because, based on the average closing price of NetApp stock for the last six-months, the transaction is worth only about $24 per share, which represents a negligible premium to Data Domain's $23.61 share price of as recently as September 25, 2008. Furthermore, the sales process Data Domain conducted was flawed given that, in contravention of their fiduciary duties to maximize shareholder value, Data Domain's  Board would agree to a "no-shop" provision and a $57 million termination fee which will ensure no superior offer will ever be forthcoming, so the investigation. Data Domain, Inc. is located in Santa Clara California and had $123.62million in total revenue in 2007 and $274.08million in total revenue with a net income of $21.59million in 2008. DDUP shares were down from a 52weekHigh of $25.16 per share and reached $39.24 per share in October 2007.

If you are a current investor in Data Domain, Inc.(Public, NASDAQ:DDUP) and purchased your shares before May 20, 2009, you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc. immediately at:

Email: mail@shareholdersfoundation.com

Or call us at: +1 (858) 779 - 1554

Shareholders Foundation, Inc.
Trevor Allen
3111 Camino Del Rio North - Suite 423 -
92108 San Diego
Tel:+1-(858)-779-1554
Fax:+1-(858)-605-5739
mail@shareholdersfoundation.com
www.ShareholdersFoundation.com
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