Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shareholders now have yet another option to consider as activist investor Carl Icahn apparently hasn’t given up yet. The drama started when founder Michael Dell proposed to take the company private through a leveraged buyout. Then Icahn and The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) each offered other buyout options before withdrawing them. Now there’s yet another page in the story.
Carl Icahn Makes A New Offer For Dell
Now there’s a new buyout deal for Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) on the table—once again from Icahn, although this time he has teamed up with Southeastern Asset Management. As reported by The Wall Street Journal and CNBC, the new bid is $24.4 billion—which matches the amount in the leveraged buyout offer from Mr. Dell—except that it enables shareholders to keep their stock and also take $12 per share in either cash or stock. Shares purchased as part of this buyout offer would be valued at $1.65 per share.
The offer was made via a letter written to the company’s board of directors and arrived Thursday evening. Icahn and Southeastern both said in the letter that they would take more shares instead of cash.
Icahn’s previous offer involved Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) receiving a $2 billion investment from Icahn and his firm and also taking on $5.2 billion in new debt. It allowed shareholders to either keep their shares in the PC maker or cash out at $15 per share.
Fight For Control Of Dell’s Board
Both Icahn and Southeastern said they would attempt to fight Mr. Dell for control of the company’s board of directors if Dell shareholders continue to follow the original go-private offer made by Mr. Dell. They said they would do this by nominating 12 new directors to challenge the board that currently controls the company.
As two of Dell’s largest shareholders, Southeastern and Icahn together own about a 13 percent stake in the company.
