The second largest investor of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW), has decided to go against the technology giant’s $24.4 billion buyout plan by joining Southeastern Asset Management’s pledge to disrupt the proposed plan.
“We believe the proposed buyout does not reflect the value of Dell and we do not intend to support the offer as put forward,” Brian Rogers, T. Rowe’s chairman and chief investment officer, said today in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg. T. Rowe Price joined the opposition Tuesday
Mutual fund firm, T. Rowe Price, which owns about 4.4% of Dell’s outstanding shares, is the Texas company’s second largest institutional investor, according to FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS).
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL), which was once considered the world’s largest technology company with about $57 billion in annual revenue, has now become less appealing to investors as smartphones and tablets take over the technology market. The former king of personal computers now ranks third behind Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo.
Southeastern, which announced to vote against the proposed deal last week, argues that Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) is worth $23.72 per share, or about $42 billion. The shareholder rebellion say the Silver Lake transaction significantly undervalues Dell’s intrinsic value and represents an opportunistically timed offer.
T Rowe Price, however, didn’t speak of its own estimate of what it believes Dell is worth.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) said it required a majority of investors, excluding Chief Executive Michael Dell’s 14 percent stake, to approve the transaction. With T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW) added to the list, at least six investors with more than 18 percent of Dell shares, excluding Dell’s stake, have now joined the opposition.
In their defence, the company said its board had considered many strategic options before opting to go private.
As a result of Michael Dell’s involvement, the PC maker has now gone into a go-shop process to solicit better offers, which according to many opposing investors, may prevent other bidders to come forth.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) shares were up 0.6% at $13.70.
