Dell Shareholder Vote Postponed

Today's special meeting of Dell shareholders, which was called in order to vote on a buyout offer, was convened and adjourned without voting on the proposal, the company announced.

That vote on chairman and CEO Michael Dell's $24.4 billion offer was postponed until July 24 in order for Dell to get more proxy votes and more support. Michael Dell holds approximately 14% of his company's shares, and he needs a majority of the shares other than those he holds to take Dell private.

Carl Icahn, who owns 8.7% of Dell's shares and who had previously put forth a counteroffer for the company, foresaw the possible postponement and yesterday issued an open letter to stockholders and Dell's special committee decrying it.

"[I]t has been reported [that] the Board of Directors may decide to postpone the July 18 vote ... Can you imagine a political election contest where one side could push off the election to wait for ... a date when it is hoped they might do better in the vote than they would have done on the originally scheduled election date?" Icahn wrote.

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