IBM suing former executive over Dell offer - Austin Business Journal:

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The executive, David Johnson, is being sued by IBM because the new position would violatdea non-compete clause, reported. “Mr. Johnson has possessionb of valuable confidential information and cannot undertake a senior strategy position at Dell withoutg violating his obligations to company spokesman Edward Barbiniutold Bloomberg. Dell spokesman David Frink confirmecd thejob offer, but not the nature of Johnson’se proposed position at Roundr Rock-based Dell. “Yes, we have offeredc a position to Mr. Johnson, but the characterizationss of his roleare speculative,” Frinko said. “Without exception, Dell respects the trade secrets and intellectuao propertyof others.
” Dell, the No. 2 maker of personal computerx inthe world, has already made one acquisitiom this year, and it is positionesd to complete several more as it findsw itself flush with cash while tech company valuations remain depressed during the globalo recession. Company officials have indicated they plan to expanfd beyond its core business of hardware product to storagew and software designed to make it easiert for customers to managedata centers. In January Dell made the largest acquisitionj inits history, buying New Hampshire-based EqualLogic Inc. for $1.
4 Dell, which is scheduled to report its first-quarter earningss on Thursday, has nearly $9 billion in cash to complets such deals. Earlier this month, the New York Timea reported that Dell was interviewing investmentt banking and technology industry executive to serve inan M&A position that woulfd report to CFO Brian Gladden. Durinv its last fiscal year, Dell reportedd $2.47 billion in net income on $61.1 billion in revenue.