Silicon Valley companies making billion-dollar deals

Call it the season of billion-dollar deals.

From Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems to Intel and Oracle, some of Silicon Valley's largest companies charged out of the recession with fat bankrolls and a determination to spend whatever it takes this year to reshape their businesses around emerging technologies. If the buying binge continues, 2010 could rank among the biggest for billion-dollar deals in a decade. Companies in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties already have announced five purchases worth at least $1 billion this year, according to the 451 Group, which has compiled such data since 2002. The previous record -- last set in 2009 -- was seven. In what could become the year's sixth mega deal, the outcome of a bidding war between HP and Dell was likely to be decided this morning, when Fremont data-storage company 3Par is scheduled to announce whether it has accepted HP's offer of about $2 billion. But analysts expect the wave of deals in the valley to continue.