A Dell computer counter in a shopping mall in Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/China Daily]

Dell Inc will buy data storage company EMC Corp in a deal valued at about $67 billion, the largest on record in the technology sector.

The offer is $33.15 per share in cash and special stock, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

EMC shares were up 3.9 percent at $29.08 in premarket trading.

The deal will help the world's No 3 PC maker tap into the fast-growing and lucrative market for managing and storing data for businesses amid waning demand for personal computers globally.

Dell said it would pay $24.05 per share in cash and the rest in a special stock that tracks the value of a portion of EMC's economic interest in VMware Inc, the virtualization software company majority-owned by EMC.

"The combination of Dell and EMC creates an enterprise solutions powerhouse," said Michael Dell, who will lead the combined company as chairman and chief executive.

EMC is also planning to seek out other suitors, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

EMC's board has approved the merger agreement and intends to recommend that the company's stockholders approve the deal.

The deal will be financed through a combination of new equity from Michael Dell, MSD Partners, Silver Lake and Singapore state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd as well as the issuance of the tracking stock, new debt and cash on hand.