Dell today announced that its shareholders have approved the proposed buyout of the PC manufacturing company by the company’s founder and CEO, Michael Dell (pictured). The vote was taken today at a special shareholders meeting. The $24.9 billion transaction will see Michael Dell take control of the company along with investment firm Silver Lake Partners.
The buyout was first proposed back in January, with an estimated $24.4 billion offer. For months now, the Dell board has been battling the criticisms of billionaire investor Carl Ichan, who claimed the entire deal was severely undervaluing the company. With Icahn bowing out of the situation earlier this week, the final terms of the deal have ended up very close to what was initially proposed. Shareholders will come away with $13.75 per share, as well as a cash dividend of $0.13 per share. Quarterly dividends of $0.08 per share for the third quarter 2013 are also guaranteed for stockholders prior to the deal closing.
When the proposal was first announced, Michael Dell stated that he intends to take Dell private so that it can have more time to execute a long-term strategy of shifting its business toward enterprise solutions. Today he reiterated that he intends to turn Dell into an enterprise solutions and services business.
“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,” said Michael Dell. “As a private enterprise, with a strong private-equity partner, we’ll serve our customers with a single-minded purpose and drive the innovations that will help them achieve their goals.
“As our company continues to expand its enterprise solutions and services business, our team members will be Dell’s most valuable asset and the key to our future success.”
(Image courtesy mikeandryan via Wikimedia Commons)