Storage deduplication provider Data Domain announced on Wednesday that it had backed out of a previously announced merger with storage solutions provider NetApp and decided instead to merge with EMC - NetApp's competitor in the acquisition bid.

According to a NetApp statement, Data Domain paid the loosing company $57 million as a "break-up fee" for terminating the standing agreement between the two firms. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission granted clearance for the merger agreement between them on July 2.

Following the FTC clearance, EMC announced on Monday that it had offered to raise its all-cash offer to Data Domain to $33.5 per share, outbidding NetApp by $3.5 per share. EMC offered to buy all outstanding Data Domain shares for a total enterprise value of about $2.1 billion.

EMC also offered to remove the break-up fee from the merger agreement and urged a Data Domain pledge to do the same. According to a statement Data Domain made Wednesday, the merger agreement with EMC is "definitive."