Nutanix: 'No Truth' To Cisco Acquisition Rumor; 'Committed' To Dell

Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey squashed rumors that his startup was being acquired by Cisco Systems in a statement Monday, saying Dell would have "a front-row seat" if they ever decided to become part of another company.

"You may have seen recent press speculation of Cisco acquiring Nutanix. There is no truth to those rumors," said Pandey in a statement addressed to "Team Dell." "With the ever-increasing attention on convergence and cloud, we will continue to see press and analysts put forward their guesses on mergers and acquisitions in this space."

The rumor mill was still buzzing on Monday that Cisco would purchase the hyper-converged infrastructure startup Nutanix following a May 15 report by Jared Rinderer, senior research analyst at the independent research firm Equity Capital Research Group, claiming the acquisition may be announced at Nutanix's customer and partner conference in June.

[Related: Report: Cisco Planning To Acquire Startup Nutanix In Hyper-Converged Blockbuster]

Pandey's statement shot down any idea that his San Jose, Calif.-based startup would be bought by Cisco -- highlighting his company's commitment to working with Dell.

"We are also firmly committed to the Dell partnership," said Pandey. "Competition sees this as an opportunity to seed doubt amongst genuine allies. As I've always said, 'let's move the enemy from within to the outside'. A cluttered mind is the biggest weakness of people at war."

Pandey said his vision is to become one of the next "iconic" independent software companies and the market opportunity for Dell and Nutanix is "immense."

"Nutanix is on the path to become a public company in the not-so-distant future, and has weighed every scenario to chart its course of independence," said Pandey. "If we ever decide to be part of another company, Dell will have a front-row seat in the bidding for it. That is my word to [Dell CEO] Michael Dell and a part of our agreement. We don't want to a bidding frenzy."

Nutanix had a $2 billion valuation after raising more than $312 in venture funding last August.

A Cisco spokesman said Cisco does not comment on rumors or speculation.

PUBLISHED MAY 18, 2015