HPE shells out over $1bn on supercomputer firm

CEO Neri says the 'answers to some of society's most pressing questions are buried in massive amounts of data'

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has splashed $1.3bn (£1bn) on "global supercomputer leader" Cray to beef up its big data analytics capabilities.

Cray is a provider of high-end supercomputing solutions and has a leadership position in the top 100 supercomputer installations globally, HPE claimed.

CEO Antonio Neri said: "Answers to some of society's most pressing challenges are buried in massive amounts of data.

"Only by processing and analysing this data will we be able to unlock the answers to critical challenges across medicine, climate change, space and more.

"Cray is a global technology leader in supercomputing and shares our deep commitment to innovation.

"By combining our world-class teams and technology, we will have the opportunity to drive the next generation of high-performance computing and play an important part in advancing the way people live and work."

HPE will acquire Cray for $35 per share, which equates to a valuation of 17 per cent above the publicly listed firm's market cap on Thursday evening.

Cray CEO Peter Ungaro said: "This is an amazing opportunity to bring together Cray's leading-edge technology and HPE's wide reach and deep product portfolio, providing customers of all sizes with integrated solutions and unique supercomputing technology to address the full spectrum of their data-intensive needs.

"HPE and Cray share a commitment to customer-centric innovation and a vision to create the global leader for the future of high-performance computing and AI."

HPE said it expects the deal to close by the first quarter of its fiscal 2020. The vendor is set to release its Q2 results for 2019 next week.