Report: EMC held merger talks

Data-storage giant EMC Corp. of Hopkinton held merger talks with technology giants Hewlett-Packard and Dell within the last year as it faced pressure from shareholders, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

The Journal said EMC held on-again, off-again discussions with officials from Hewlett-Packard and, while those talks appear to be off now, it’s not clear whether they will begin again. As for Dell, the WSJ cited people familiar with talks between the two firms, adding that it’s not clear what the status of those talks are.

Within the last year, EMC faced pressure from shareholders who sought to separate the roles of chairman and CEO. The man who holds both roles, Joseph Tucci, has said he will remain at the company at least through early 2015 and will relinquish some of duties before that point.

Last January, EMC filed suit in federal court against the two shareholders, asking a judge to prevent their proposal from becoming part of the company's 2014 proxy materials for its annual shareholders meeting in April.

J.P. Morgan Chase is advising EMC on its options, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the issue.

In its most recent quarterly report, EMC said revenue jumped by 5 percent, or $5.9 billion, led by strong growth in its Pivotal and VM Ware businesses.

EMC, with annual revenues of about $23 billion, is the second-largest employer in Central Massachusetts, with about 63,000 employees worldwide and 9,300 in the region.