Tag Archives: Michael Dell

News, Politics, Government

After Board Nixes Michael Dell's Deal, Carl Icahn Says 'Let The Desperate Dell Debacle Die'

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By Connie Guglielmo, Forbes Staff Billionaire investor and activist Carl Icahn called on a special committee of Dell’s board, which earlier today rejected a $26.6 billion buyout plan proposed by Michael Dell, to let a shareholder vote on the issue take place this Friday and put an end to the “Dell debacle.” Icahn , in an open letter to the PC makers board, said he’s “pleased” that Michael Dell’s $13.75 a share offer has been turned down, but noted that “the Special Committee has proposed to change the record date for the special meeting of stockholders, which would further delay the stockholder vote that was first scheduled for July 18.  To that proposal, we say:  Enough!  The stockholders have spoken – and they do not want to be frozen out by Michael Dell/Silver Lake.  Let the vote happen on Friday.  Michael Dell has said he is “at peace either way”.  We are glad to hear it! It is time to let the proposed freeze-out merger die.” Here’s the text of the letter by Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, one of Dell’s top shareholders and a vocal opponent of Michael Dell’s plan to take the company private with partner Silver Lake. LET THE DESPERATE DELL DEBACLE DIE Dear Fellow Dell Stockholders and Dell Special Committee: Today we read that the Dell Special Committee will not accept Michael Dell/Silver Lake’s request to amend the stockholder approval requirement previously agreed to by Dell, Michael Dell and Silver Lake. We are pleased to see that the Special Committee heeded our advice. But now, the Special Committee has proposed to change the record date for the special meeting of stockholders, which would further delay the stockholder vote that was first scheduled for July 18. To that proposal, we say: Enough! The stockholders have spoken – and they do not want to be frozen out by Michael Dell/Silver Lake. Let the vote happen on Friday. Michael Dell has said he is “at peace either way”. We are glad to hear it! It is time to let the proposed freeze-out merger die.  If the Special Committee fails to heed our advice to hold the Special Meeting on Friday and let the stockholders finally vote after six months of uncertainty, and instead, they decide to reset the record date and schedule the Special Meeting for the fourth time, it is imperative, AS WE HAVE REQUESTED FOR MONTHS, that Dell also hold the Annual Meeting on that same day and at the same time. LET’S MOVE FORWARD TO END THIS UNCERTAINTY The Dell Board needs to immediately set a record date for the Annual Meeting and announce the date for the Annual Meeting. The current Dell directors have been sitting for over a year. We believe that the Dell Board has a fiduciary obligation to ensure stockholders have the opportunity to make their choice: Do stockholders want to continue with the incumbent directors who have supported what we believe is an undervalued merger with the company’s founder, largest stockholder and CEO?  OR Do stockholders want to …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Computers

Icahn criticizes Dell for vote rule change on proposed deal

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The takeover bout for Dell resumed on Monday, with investor Carl Icahn sounding off on the proposal from Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners to change rules governing the shareholder vote for a revised bid to take the PC maker private.

Company founder Michael Dell and his buyout partner, Silver Lake, last week offered shareholders US$13.75 per share for the company, an increase from the $13.65 proposed in February. As part of the revised offered, the parties proposed a change in the shareholder vote in which only “yes” or “no” votes will be counted, and non-votes or abstentions will not count.

Icahn on Monday urged Dell’s board not to support the proposed shareholder vote change as it could disenfranchise voters.

“The plain and simple fact is that Michael Dell and Silver Lake have underestimated the extent of stockholder opposition to the Michael Dell/Silver Lake transaction and are unwilling to pay fair value to obtain approval of their interested-party freeze-out transaction,” Icahn wrote in a statement.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

News, Politics, Government

Carl Icahn Blasts Michael Dell For Proposed Vote Change on Dell Buyout

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By Nathan Vardi, Forbes Staff

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn blasted Michael Dell on Monday for trying to get the special committee of Dell’s board to change a key rule in the upcoming shareholder vote on the Michael Dell and Silver Lake proposed $26.6 billion buyout of Dell. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Computers

Michael Dell raises buyout offer for Dell by $0.10 per share, with new voting conditions

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Michael Dell has raised his offer to take Dell private by US$0.10 per share, to about $24.7 billion, after the company was forced to delay a vote because stockholders seemed inclined to reject the bid.

The new bid of $13.75 per share from Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners prompted the company to adjourn the special stockholder meeting for a second time while a special committee of the board of directors evaluates the new bid. The meeting will be reconvened at 9 a.m. Central Time on August 2, the special committee said Wednesday.

However, the new bid comes with strings attached: The company must modify the voting requirements for its acceptance, Denali Holding, the acquisition vehicle Michael Dell and Silver Lake are using for their bid, wrote in a letter to the board’s special committee.

Denali wants to modify the merger agreement to require the approval of “a majority of the outstanding shares held by the unaffiliated stockholders that are present in person or by proxy and voting for or against approval of the merger agreement at the stockholder meeting.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Science & Technology

Choices: Closer look at 2 plans for Dell's future

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Dell Inc. has delayed Thursday’s vote on founder Michael Dell’s plan to take the computer maker private. That’s a sign the board needs more time to rally support. Activist investor Carl Icahn and the Southeastern Asset Management fund, which own 13 percent of the company combined, have made a competing proposal. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org

Computers

Dell shareholder vote to take company private delayed

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Dell has delayed a shareholder vote of a proposed buyout deal in which founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners would take the company private.

Dell on Thursday said it adjourned a shareholder meeting to “provide additional time to solicit proxies from Dell stockholders,” and that a special meeting will reconvene on July 24 at 5 p.m. CDT at the company’s campus in Round Rock, Texas.

Michael Dell and Silver Lake in February proposed a deal to buyout Dell for $24.4 billion, or $13.65 per share. The deal includes a $2 billion loan from Microsoft, and debt financing from Bank of America, RBC Capital Markets, Merrill Lynch and Barclays. Dell’s board backed the deal, saying it was the best offer on the table.

But some shareholders came out against proposed deal, believing the company was being undervalued. Some advisory firms recommended shareholders vote for the deal in the wake of a weakening PC market and Dell’s uncertain future. Dell’s business is largely centered around the deteriorating PC business and the company has little to no presence in the growing smartphone and tablet markets.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

News, Politics, Government

Team Icahn Has Dell On The Run

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By Nathan Vardi, Forbes Staff

Not long ago, it seemed like billionaire investor Carl Icahn was isolated and defeated in his effort to kill the Michael Dell and Silver Lake $24.4 billion deal for Dell. The powerful Blackstone Group private equity firm dropped out of the race for the struggling PC maker and Icahn appeared to be having trouble getting the financing to mount a serious counter-proposal. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Computers

Wall Street Beat: Icahn battle with Dell over buyout going down to the wire

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With a shareholder vote scheduled for July 18, the battle over Dell’s US$24.4 billion plan to go private intensified Friday as investor Carl Icahn and his affiliates issued an enhanced offer for the company.

Icahn and his partner, Southeastern Asset Management, issued a letter to Dell shareholders offering a warrant to buy a share in the company at US$20 over the next seven years for every four shares that they sell now. Icahn’s plan calls for part of the company to continue to be publicly traded.

The new offer is in addition to the previous proposal to buy shares at $14 each. Making the calculation that shares will rise over $20 once the suggested proposal and new management is in place, Icahn said in the letter that the entire deal is potentially worth $15.50 to $18 a share for current shareholders.

In the letter, Icahn said that he and Southeastern are “completely committed to bringing in management that we expect to be far superior to Michael Dell who we believe has had an abysmal record during the last three years. We believe there would be several excellent candidates for this position who would be very interested in running this company once a clear mandate has been established.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Market Minute: SeaWorld Goes Public, Valued at $2.5 Billion

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By DailyFinance Staff

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Jason Collier, AP

One of the biggest IPOs this year could make a big splash today. Theme park operator SeaWorld was priced at the high end of expectations, $27 a share. That values the company at $2.5 dollars.

Two out of three ain’t bad: That’s the scorecard from the three tech giants that reported quarterly results late yesterday.
Microsoft’s (MSFT) profit rose by a better-than-expected 19 percent to more than $6. Sales of server software and Xbox video games were strong, but newly booked revenue from Windows was essentially flat.

Google’s (GOOG) net rose 16 percent, also topping expectations. Revenue growth in its core advertising business was also strong.

But IBM (IBM) came up short of Street expectations and revenue was hurt by sluggish demand from corporate tech customers. It the first time IBM has missed the target since 2005. Separately, Big Blue is in talks to sell its huge server business to China-based Lenovo.

General Electric’s (GE) net rose 16 percent, in line with expectations. Revenue was flat, but a bit stronger than expected. GE is often considered a bellwether for the broader economy.

Blackstone Group (BX) has withdrawn its offer for Dell (DELL) after discovering the computer maker’s business is deteriorating faster than previously thought. That leaves only investor Carl Icahn as a possible rival to the bid from a group led by company founder Michael Dell to take the company private.

It was seven months ago today that Apple (AAPL) shares hit their all-time high of $702; they closed yesterday at $392. That’s a drop of 44 percent.

And Netflix (NFLX) is hoping to build on the success of its “House of Card” series with a second original program. Today it begins streaming the entire first season of a gothic horror series, “Hemlock Grove.”

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg

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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/seaworld-IPO-stock-market-news/

Computers

Reports: Blackstone abandons offer for Dell

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Blackstone Group has given up its bid for Dell, less than a month after the private-equity fund manager said it was planning to top an offer from founder Michael Dell and private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners, according to news reports.

In the so-called “go-shop” period for alternative bidders to make their offers, Dell received two counter-offers related to its plans to go private, with bids coming in from Blackstone and entities associated with investor Carl Icahn. It is not clear whether Icahn’s bid still continues.

A special committee had concluded that both offers “could reasonably be expected to result in superior proposals, as defined under the terms of the existing merger agreement.” The committee intended to continue negotiations with both Blackstone and Icahn.

But Blackstone’s investors are said to have had reservations on the deal, and had concerns that the stock market had already evaluated Dell fairly, The Financial Times reported, quoting people familiar with the matter.

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From: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2035748/reports-blackstone-abandons-offer-for-dell.html#tk.rss_all

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Market Minute: Dish Network Bids $25.5 Billion for Sprint Nextel

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By DailyFinance Staff

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Two big takeover deals are in the works, and plunging gold prices pressure stocks.

All three of the major averages rallied by more than two percent last week, with the Dow and the S&P setting record highs along the way.

This could be a big merger Monday: Dish Network (DISH) is bidding to acquire Sprint Nextel (S). The offer – termed an informal offer and valued at more than $25 billion dollars, including debt – is intended to derail Sprint’s deal with the Japanese company Softbank.

And Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) has agreed to buy Life Technologies (LIFE) for more than $13 billion dollars. Both companies make laboratory equipment. Life Technologies‘ stock has jumped 25 percent since it put itself up for sale in January. At least two other groups had been considering bids.

Earnings season kicks into high gear this week. Citigroup (C) topped expectations on both earnings and revenue.
Freeport McMoRan (FCX) and Newmont Mining (NEM) are both under pressure as the price of gold tumbles more than 6 percent this morning. That’s partly because of signs of slowing growth in China.

In an effort to settle a long running anti-trust suit in Europe, Google (GOOG) has reportedly offered to change the way it operates its search engine. News reports say Google is prepared to make a greater distinction between its internet searches and those of competitors.

General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) are working together to develop more fuel efficient nine- and 10-speed transmissions for their cars. Some rivals, including Chrysler, are already there.

J.C. Penney (JCP) on Friday won a round in its court battle with Macy’s (M). The judge said Penney could temporarily sell housewares designed by Martha Stewart, while the trial continues this week.

Dell’s biggest institutional investor, Southeastern Asset Management, is stepping up its opposition to Michael Dell‘s effort to take the computer maker private. The investment firm has hired a proxy solicitation group and may contact shareholders directly.

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg

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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/dish-network-sprint-nextel-offer/