Dell Buyout Offer Boosted; Vote Postponed

@AFP
Dell Buyout Offer Boosted; Vote Postponed

NEW YORK CITY (AFP) – The buyout offer for Dell led by company founder Michael Dell was raised slightly Wednesday, and a shareholder vote on the plan was postponed until August 2, the company said.

The offer from Michael Dell and the private equity firm Silver Lake was boosted to $13.75 per share, from $13.65 a share, a company statement said.

A letter to shareholders said the new offer adds $150 million to the prior bid of $24.4 billion, and said it was “our best and final proposal.”

It said the offer was contingent on a modification of the approval process to require a majority of shares voted, instead of a majority of all outstanding shares held by the unaffiliated stockholders.

“We are not willing to discuss any further increase in the merger consideration nor are we willing to increase the merger consideration to $13.75 per share without the change to the Unaffiliated Stockholder Approval requirement,” the letter said.

“There is simply no rational basis for shares that are not voted to count as votes against the merger agreement for purposes of the unaffiliated stockholder vote.”

The move came amid stiff opposition to the buyout by some shareholders who argued that Michael Dell’s bid undervalued the former number one computer maker.

Opponents have been galvanized by corporate raider Carl Icahn, with some other institutional investors also opposing the effort.

The buyout aims to take Dell private to allow the company to restructure in a rapidly changing tech landscape. While Dell is flush with cash it has been losing market share and has failed to make an impact in the growing area or mobile computing.

Photo Credit: AFP/Justin Sullivan

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Marjorie Taylor Mouth Makes Another Empty Threat

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

I’m absolutely double-positive it won’t surprise you to learn that America’s favorite poster-person for bluster, blowhardiness and bong-bouncy-bunk went on Fox News on Sunday and made a threat. Amazingly, she didn’t threaten to expose alleged corruption by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by quoting a Russian think-tank bot-factory known as Strategic Culture Foundation, as she did last November. Rather, the Congressperson from North Georgia made her eleventy-zillionth threat to oust the Speaker of the House from her own party, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), using the Motion to Vacate she filed last month. She told Fox viewers she wanted to return to her House district to “listen to voters” before acting, however.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump Campaign Gives Access To Far-Right Media But Shuns Mainstream Press

Trump campaign press pass brandished on air by QAnon podcaster Brenden Dilley

Trump's Hour On CNN Was A Profile In Cowardice

Vanity Fair recently reported that several journalists from mainstream publications, including The Washington Post, NBC News, Axios, and Vanity Fair, were denied press access to Trump’s campaign events, seemingly in retaliation for their previous critical coverage. Meanwhile, Media Matters found that the campaign has granted press credentials to the QAnon-promoting MG Show and Brenden Dilley, a podcaster who has promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory and leads a “meme team” that creates pro-Trump content.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}