We can finally put the drama surrounding the acquisition of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) by founder Michael Dell and the private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners behind us. The company issued a press release a short while ago announcing the completion of the acquisition.
Dell deal completed
Under the terms of the final agreement, shareholders of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) will receive $13.75 per common share. They will also receive a 13-cent per share cash dividend if they were shareholders of record by the end of business on Oct. 28. The total amount received by shareholders of record by that date is $13.88 per share in cash. The entire transaction’s value is about $24.9 billion.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)’s shareholders approved the acquisition at a special meeting on Sept. 12. Trading in the PC maker’s stock will be finished at close of business today. The deal officially takes the company private and away from the watchful eyes of investors. The company has begun the process of removing its ticker symbol from the NASDAQ.
“Today, Dell enters an exciting new chapter as a private enterprise,” Mr. Dell said in a statement. “Our 110,000 team members worldwide are 100 percent focused on our customers and aggressively executing our long-term strategy for their benefit.”
Dell versus Carl Icahn
Today’s announcement follows months of public brawling between Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)’s board of directors and activist investor Carl Icahn. He finally retreated from his attack on the company a few days before the special meeting. Icahn had been trying to block the go-private transaction, saying that it dramatically undervalued the company and suggesting that Mr. Dell was essentially trying to steal the company and its future potential value from shareholders.
Icahn has been snapping up shares of the PC maker for most of the year and filed a lawsuit to try to block Mr. Dell’s acquisition of the company he founded. This drama has dragged on all year long, so investors will undoubtedly be happy to stop hearing about it all the time. Meanwhile Icahn appears to have bigger fish to fry as he targets Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), pushing for a $150 billion share buyback.
