Dell Inc., American technology-company based in Round Rock, Texas, announced on Tuesday its decision to acquire MessageOne Inc, the business e-mail services provider which was co-founded by Michael Dell's brother.

Dell bought MessageOne Inc for $155 million in cash. MessageOne’s software is made to help companies manage and archive e-mail, minimize outage and prevent data losses. The Austin-based provides its software over the internet, Dell said in the statement issued when announcing the acquirement.

MessageOne has more than 180 employees and raised more than $33 million in venture capital so far. The firm is currently owned by two investment funds: Impact Venture Partners and Impact Entrepreneurs Fund. Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., and his family are investors in the two funds which are operated by his brother Adam Dell.

"This is a valuable acquisition for Dell. MessageOne's offerings add key capabilities to our growing SaaS-enabled services portfolio for the most critical application to businesses of any size - e-mail," says Steve Schuckenbrock, president and CIO for Dell Global Services.

Michael Dell, his wife Susan and their children's trust will most likely receive approximately 12 million from the deal, said Adam, who will get about $970,000, while his parents will obtain about $450,000.

However, Michael Dell intends to donate their earnings from the deal to charity, the company statement said.

Dell already has 1,200 businesses and organizations on its customer roster. As of 2006, the company had more than 78,700 employees worldwide. It currently holds the second spot in the hardware computer-industry behind Hewlett-Packard after the latter's merger with Compaq in 2002.