The Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL) drama just gets better and better. This morning before opening bell it appeared as if founder Michael Dell and his partner Silver Lake had won a decisive victory against Carl Icahn. However, a tweet just posted by Icahn indicates that he might have been the actual winner.
Shares of Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL) have risen 5 percent since the markets opened this morning, due largely to the deal that was struck between the special committee and the buyout group.
Carl Icahn tweets about Dell
We are pleased to have won another battle in the Dell war but the war itself is far from over. More to follow.
— Carl Icahn (@Carl_C_Icahn) August 2, 2013
He tweeted: “We are pleased to have won another battle in the Dell war but the war itself is far from over. More to follow.”
Icahn filed a lawsuit against Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL) on Thursday in an attempt to prevent the deal which happened early this morning from actually going through. The buyout group—Mr. Dell and Silver Lake—reached a deal with the company’s special committee to raise the buyout price to $13.75 per share, add a 13-cent dividend, change the voting rules and move back the record date.
Needless to say, Carl Icahn doesn’t want any of these things to happen. Changing the voting rules would make it easier for the buyout group to win because it takes the abstaining votes out of the running. The previous rules make all abstaining votes count as no votes. Also moving the record date back gives more shareholders the right to vote on the go-private offer.
What does Icahn mean?
At this point it’s entirely unclear about what Icahn means by his cryptic tweet. There’s a chance that his lawsuit hit home in the wake of Dell Inc (NASDAQ:DELL)’s early morning deal with the buyout group, although it’s probably too early for that to be made apparent. We’ll just have to wait and see what the big announcement ends up being. There’s just no telling. The only thing that’s clear in this case is that Icahn really doesn’t want Dell to go private. It’s beginning to seem as if he cares more about winning than about making money on this deal.
