In an announcement, Dell Inc is urging its shareholders to vote to accept the US$24.4 billion buyout offer from founder and current CEO Michael Dell at its special shareholder meeting to be held on July 18. The company says that the Dell-Silver Lake Partners bid was superior to other strategic options available to the company.
Earlier this month, billionaire investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management had offered a counter bid worth US$21 billion for Dell. The main difference between the two bids is that the Dell-Silver Lake bid would privatize the firm while the Icahn-SAM bid would allow shareholders to retain their shares.
Dell made the call in a letter sent to its shareholders saying it has examined the option of retaining or modifying the business plan of the world's no. 3 PC maker. It also looked into changing its dividend policy, being sold off to a strategic buyer or spinning off or selling off parts of its businesses into separate units.
According to the letter from Dell, the company said, "A sale to the Michael Dell/Silver Lake group... is the best alternative available - in a challenging business environment, it offers certainty and a very material premium over pre-announcement trading prices."
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