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Dell Confirms and Details Rival Bids From Blackstone and Icahn

Posted by samzenpus on from the dude-you're-buying-dell dept.

DavidGilbert99 writes "Dell has confirmed it has received 'two alternative acquisition proposals' from billionaire investor Carl Icahn and the world's largest equity firm Blackstone. These bids rival the $24.4 billion offer made by co-founder Michael Dell and equity firm Silver Lake last month, who want to take the company private. Dell also confirmed details of the two offers, with both exceeding Michael Dell's original offer of $13.65 per share, with Blackstone offering $14.25 and Icahn offering $15 per share."

6 of 70 comments (clear)

  1. Who are Icahn's backers? by poity · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No story mentions that. He certainly doesn't have 26.8B dollars. Is it a bluff to get the dividends he wanted?

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  2. Re:Dude, you're getting a Dell! by jbmartin6 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't know what his plans might be, but there's a world of difference between publicly traded and privately held companies. There are a whole slew of constraints on what a public company can do, between regulations and notions of 'fiduciary duty'. Not to mention the obligatory lawsuits every time the stock price dips. I think we can expect to see more and more companies going privately held when large changes need to be made.

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  3. Vultures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Witness first hand the attempted destruction of a large American company. These bids aren't serving anyone's interest except a select few. (Despite claiming to be for "shareholder interest")

    If any of these parties get hold of Dell, the company will be dead inside a few years. Assets stripped, loaded with debt, pensions and retirement plans raided, thousands laid off. Sound familiar? Yeah, it does. Because you've seen it happen hundreds of times if you read the news.

    Something is broken. Why is there so much money to be made by destroying companies, jobs, and livelihood? Why is it legal?

    How long before we resort to publishing the personal details, addresses of corporate raiders and mailing them to the millions who have lost their jobs and had their retirements stolen? While vigilante justice isn't a solution, it is a failure mode. And failure is what is happening here.

    1. Re:Vultures by schnell · · Score: 3, Insightful

      These bids aren't serving anyone's interest except a select few. (Despite claiming to be for "shareholder interest") ... Why is there so much money to be made by destroying companies, jobs, and livelihood? Why is it legal?

      These bids are absolutely in the shareholder interest, that's who is making the money here (at least in the short term). Nearly all companies exist for the purpose of the people who own them (shareholders), not the people who work there. If you want a company that runs for the benefits of its workers, you're looking for a co-op (where the members are also the owners), but they are relatively few in number and aren't suited to exist in certain industries where you need funding from outside sources to start or build your business.

      As to why it's legal... why not? Let's say you run a diner and someone offers you $100K for it and says they will buy it and keep it running. I offer you $150K for the diner but say I'm going to close it down and convert into a bar, firing all the current employees in the process. Why should it be illegal for you to take my higher bid? You might not take my bid because you find it morally distasteful. But it certainly shouldn't be illegal for me to offer that or for you to accept it.

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  4. Re:Dude, you're getting a Dell! by meerling · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Apple develops their own CPUs?
    Do you mean the Motorolas, the PowerPCs (a consortium of apple, ibm, and motorola. That's two experienced chip designers and apple.), or do you mean the current Intel CPUs?

    Well, that's it for their computers. I actually have no idea what their portable istuff uses, but I'm rather doubtful it's something they developed. Considering their standard method of obtaining 'cutting edge tech' they either bought and exclusive contract with the developer/manufacturer, or they bought the company itself.

    Apple designers have always been great, their engineers don't fall into that category.

    I know, the apple fanboys are going to go ballistic over this criticism of their god and savior, and honestly, I don't care.

  5. Re:IBTimes - noscript required by AnonyMouseCowWard · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While I hate LBOs as much as the next person (in fairness probably even more), I expect Dell's shareholders to want that extra 50c and to damn the company and its employees. Unless you're both an employee and a shareholder... the plan is to take the shares off of your hand, why would you care what happens to the company afterwards? The Board of Directors is responsible to shareholders, not employees. Rationally, they'd probably vote for Dell to get gutted. Yay, unbridled capitalism.