Dell Buyout Hits a Roadblock
In an exclusive report, Reuters revealed that the largest single independent shareholder of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Southeastern Asset Management, has voiced objections to the price of the leveraged buyout. Because of the size of the money management fund's holdings, and the likelihood it will vote against the transaction, other institutional shareholders might join the fight, and throw the Dell buyout into disarray.
Reuters reports:
Southeastern has privately told the company that it is "disturbed" by a $13.65 per share offer for the third-largest PC maker by a consortium led by founder and CEO Michael Dell, and instead believes Dell is worth $20 per share, the sources said on Thursday.
The Memphis, Tennessee-based fund, which owns a 7.5 percent stake in Dell, did not return calls seeking comment.
Southeastern has not commented publicly since the deal was announced on Tuesday, but Chief Executive Mason Hawkins said in a September 30 filing that the fund believed the company's shares were worth in the "low 20s" even if Dell's personal computing business was valued at nothing.
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Mergers and Buy Outs, PC Companies Tagged: DELL
