Dell's $3.9 billion bid for Perot is part of expansion strategy

— -- Dell's planned acquisition of Perot Systems for $3.9 billion, announced Monday, anchors the company's plan to grow by selling corporations consulting services to go along with their PC purchases.

CEO Michael Dell exuded optimism. In a conference call, he said the Perot purchase supplies a platform for complementary acquisitions.

"This acquisition makes great sense because of the obvious ways our businesses complement each other," he said, adding that it should "enable us to grow profitably over time."

Perot Systems brings more than 1,000 customers spending $2.8 billion a year for tech consulting services, mainly health care companies and big federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense.

Last year, Perot Systems, founded along with EDS by onetime presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, earned $117 million.

"When my father founded Perot Systems, he envisioned a global information-technology leader," said Ross Perot Jr., chairman of Perot Systems. "The new, larger Dell builds on that promise and its own successes by taking Perot Systems' expertise to more customers than ever."