EMC Corp. (EMC), having now received regulatory approval to move forward with a deal, raised its takeover bid for Data Domain Inc. (DDUP) by 11% to $2.2 billion, as it battles NetApp Inc. (NTAP) for control of the maker of data-storage products.

EMC raised its all-cash offer to $33.50 a share, up from last month's bid of $30. The company stepped in after Data Domain agreed to a cash-and-stock offer of $25 a share from NetApp. Then Data Domain subsequently agreed to a higher price of $30 from NetApp to match the EMC bid.

Investors had been expecting still-higher bids for the company, with Data Domain's stock trading above $30 for much of the bidding battle. Shares were recently up 2.4% to $34.

The latest move by EMC pushes the bidding war closer to an end-game scenario, said Jefferies & Co. analyst Bill Choi. EMC, analysts have said, has a clear advantage in the fight, with billions more in its war chest. It can also continue to offer an all-cash deal, while NetApp's offers most likely will remain a combination of cash and stock.

"The question is, knowing largely you can't go head to head with EMC on an offer and expect to win, does NetApp come back and try to at least match this to keep the saga going?" asked Choi.

A Data Domain spokesman declined to comment while NetApp officials weren't immediately available to comment.

EMC again extended its tender offer to July 17 at midnight EDT. As of Thursday, about 195,353 shares, or 0.2%, had been tendered, or about 20,708 more than on May 26, when EMC had last extended the offer. The new offer comes following an early determination from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that removed all regulatory conditions required to proceed with the deal. The FTC reviewed the deal to determine if there were any anti-trust implications in the acquisition, and the process was seen as a speed bump ahead of further bids.

Data Domain specializes in technology that helps eliminate the storage of redundant data, and its particular niche makes it attractive to bigger players EMC and NetApp.

EMC reiterated Monday its deal offered "greater certainty" and a higher value per share than NetApp. EMC said the deal could be completed within two weeks, a month earlier than NetApp's offer. EMC added it has removed all deal protection provisions - including a break-up fee - and urged Data Domain's board to do the same with its NetApp deal.

"With regulatory requirements now fulfilled, and in light of the clearly superior proposal we submitted to Data Domain's Board of Directors today, we expect Data Domain to sign our definitive agreement that will deliver superior value in cash to the Data Domain stockholders in as little as two weeks," said EMC Chief Executive Joe Tucci in a press release.

EMC shares were recently down 0.2% to $12.75. NetApp shares gained 0.3% to $19.02.

-By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2155; jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com

 (Tess Stynes contributed to this report.)