Modern Massachusetts history is full of the names of big local technology companies that got taken over by out-of-state giants – Digital Equipment, Cascade Communications, Acme Packet, Apollo Computer – and the next name on that list could be EMC Corp.

As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, EMC is in "advanced talks" to be taken over by Dell Computer in a deal that would likely be worth around $50 billion and may include a spinoff of EMC's 80 percent interest in VMWare, worth close to $28 billion.

The companies aren't talking. But analysts such as Matt Morse, director of U.S. equities for Crestwood Advisors in Boston, say Dell, which makes computers and servers, has made clear it wants to become a true competitor for IBM and Hewlett Packard selling huge information technology systems to Fortune 500 companies.

"It would be a more robust enterprise offering, and the combined company a better offering than the biggest competitor, which is HP," said Morse. Crestwood owns shares of EMC.

EMC also faces deal pressure from disgruntled shareholders.

"The business throws off a lot of cash flows," Morse said. "That is not reflected in today's stock price ... That's kind of been stuck in the mid- $20's for a couple of years now."

A key unanswered question is whether Dell, which was taken private two years ago, can borrow or raise the $40 billion or so it would take to complete the EMC takeover. As news of the takeover talks circulated, EMC shares closed up for the day Thursday, but by only 4.7 percent, suggesting a level of skepticism on Wall Street that the deal ever gets consummated.

Besides a huge Wall Street and technology story, a Dell-EMC combination could also be a huge turning point for the Massachusetts economy. The company employs 9,500 people in the Bay State and is part of the economic lifeblood of towns up and down Interstate 495.

Scott Richardson runs an architecture firm, Gorman Richardson Lewis Architects, on the same street in Hopkinton where some 6,000 EMC employees work – jobs many locals fear could be cut or moved to Texas if a deal's consummated.

"They've made numerous contributions to the school system in computers and technology," said Richardson, who is also president of the Hopkinton Chamber of Commerce. "They've been instrumental in supporting open space and recreational facilities here in town."

"We've enjoyed them being here in town. They're a major contributor to the town, a major asset," Richardson added, "and we would really hope they're staying."

With videographer Mike Bellwin