Hewlett Packard agreed a multimillion euro deal yesterday to buy the Irish unit of the disaster recovery firm Schlumberger Business Continuity Ireland Services.

Schlumberger Business Continuity Services Ireland helps firms keep their technology systems working through a major disaster. It also offers companies the ability to back up critical data at alternative sites to their headquarters.

The announcement follows a Competition Authority decision to block the purchase of Schlumberger by IBM last year. The authority ruled the deal would have substantially cut competition in the Irish disaster recovery market.

The Irish market for disaster recovery services is worth an estimated €15 million a year. Schlumberger is said to account for around €10 million of this and IBM Ireland is its nearest competitor.

The proposed acquisition by Hewlett Packard may be investigated by the Competition Authority, although industry sources said the deal was more likely to pass the regulators than the previous IBM proposal.

Martin Murphy, head of HP's Irish operations, said the deal would enable it to add another service to its portfolio in the Republic. Schlumberger's disaster recovery division in the Republic includes regional facilities that enable its customers' staff to carry out critical work.

It also offers information technology resources containing back-up information, enabling firms to work while their normal operations are out of order or damaged. "Businesses in Ireland need to ensure that they are able to continue operation, regardless of circumstance," said Tom Carson, director of technology solutions at Hewlett Packard.

Hewlett Packard employs more than 4,000 people in the Republic and Northern Ireland.