Michael Dell Has Bought Back Dell!

Dell is now a private company again!

Dell going private through $25 billion buyout

The Verge – “Michael Dell has finally wrestled control of Dell, the company he founded, back from its shareholders. A board vote this morning ends month of speculation on whether it would approve Michael Dell’s multibillion-dollar offer to take the company private. Dell’s offer saw strong competition in the form of a counteroffer from ‘activist investor’ Carl Icahn, but Icahn ultimately pulled the plug on his attempt, saying that it would be ‘almost impossible’ to win today’s shareholder vote.

The plan to take Dell private was almost approved back in July, but a series of postponements delayed the decision. Since the idea was first floated, Dell has had to up his offer, and the final agreed package is worth $13.75 per share with an additional $0.13 dividend, or a total of approximately $24.9 billion. Though the final vote hasn’t been released yet, CNBC says that it’s been told that 65 percent of votes were in favor of the buyout. ‘I am pleased with this outcome and am energized to continue building Dell into the industry’s leading provider of scalable, end-to-end technology solutions,’ Michael Dell says in a statement following the vote.

What does this mean for Dell as a company? Announcing the acquisition back in February, Michael Dell said it will ‘open an exciting new chapter for Dell, our, customers, and team members,’ delivering ‘immediate value.’ He intends to shift the company more heavily toward enterprise services as the PC industry continues to slow in the wake of tablets and smartphones. It’s no secret that making the turnaround a success will be hard work, and among Michael Dell’s reasons for going private was that it would allow the change to occur outside of the public’s eye.”