Rackspace Hosting (RAX) might yet find a buyer, but shares of the cloud-computing service provider have floundered amid speculation that it might not. Rackspace stock was up a fraction in midday trading in the stock market today, near 34, but shares fell 7.3% on Friday after DealReporter reported that the company was not attracting interest from strategic buyers. San Antonio-based Rackspace announced in May that it had hired Morgan Stanley to
Hewlett-Packard has stepped up investments in cloud computing, prompting some analysts to speculate that it could make a big move such as acquiring Rackspace Hosting. That, however, would require HP (HPQ) to ratchet up its spending significantly, since Rackspace (RAX) could sell for $6 billion or $7 billion. HP in May said that it plans to spend $1 billion over the next two years to develop cloud products and services. At an annual conference for
IBM last year passed on acquiring Rackspace Hosting and opted instead to acquire cloud-services provider SoftLayer, a deal analysts say is working out so well that IBM again is likely to take a pass on acquiring Rackspace. In May, Rackspace (RAX) said it hired Morgan Stanley to advise on a possible company sale or partnership. But IBM’s (IBM) $2 billion purchase of Dallas-based SoftLayer has put its cloud-computing strategy on a fast track,