The deadline for the 3Par bid is nearing, and speculation is bubbling around whether or not Dell will make a last raise on its bid to acquire the company. HP had started a bidding war for 3Par, when it topped Dell’s initial bid of $18 per share earlier this month. Early predictions have put HP in the lead.

The bidding war has been the running tech soap opera drama to play out over the past few weeks, with 3Par seeming to sit quite comfortably in the middle of it all. 3Par’s terms of agreement Dell, the computer manufacturer was allotted three days, beginning Monday, to determine what it’s next move would be. With HP’s latest offer of $2 billion ($30 per share), Dell will have to devote a hefty sum to acquire 3Par.

Interestingly enough, all three companies are present at VMworld this year. We stopped by 3Par’s booth earlier, and spoke with a representative about Dell and HP’s “wrestling match” over the company. Watch the video below, read more analysis on the story here.

Update: While 3Par seemed to be sitting pretty, with high premiums and two major corporations fighting over it, Austin-based Crossroads Systems has brought a lawsuit against the company, reports PCWorld. The suit, filed yesterday, alleges that 3Par and other storage companies, including D-Link, DataCore Software, iStor Networks and others, have infringed on its patent for a storage router. The patent outlines a feature that provides virtual local storage on remote storage devices.