Mellanox Jumps to Record on Report of IBM, Oracle Offer

Mellanox Technologies Ltd. (MLNX) jumped to the highest level on record in New York after Globes newspaper reported that Oracle Corp. (ORCL) or International Business Machines Corp (IBM) may buy the Israeli company for $6 billion.

Mellanox shares jumped 7.5 percent to $100.5 by 12:09 p.m. in New York, the highest level since the company’s initial public offering in 2007. The Tel Aviv shares of the Yokneam Elit, Israel-based company closed 5.2 percent higher at 395.70 shekels, or the equivalent of $96.91.

Oracle or IBM may acquire the company for $150 per share, Globes reported, without saying how it obtained the information.

“We see greater growth for the company remaining independent,” Waldman wrote in an e-mailed message to Bloomberg News.

Mellanox sees growth in the storage business and seeks to use its technology to serve more markets and applications, Waldman said in a Bloomberg Television interview. He said on July 24 the company will use its cash reserves for more acquisitions before rewarding shareholders with dividends and stock buybacks.

To contact the reporters on this story: David Wainer in Tel Aviv at dwainer3@bloomberg.net; Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tal Barak Harif at tbarak@bloomberg.net; Claudia Maedler at cmaedler@bloomberg.net