The founder of Dell faces competition for his proposed $24.4bn (£20.7bn) buyout of the ailing personal computer company after two new bidders emerged. Blackstone, the world's largest private-equity group, and the billionaire investor Carl Icahn have thrown their hats into the ring after Michael Dell, the founder and chief executive, backed by private-equity firm Silver Lake, sought to take the business private.
Both parties have reportedly submitted expressions of interest rather than formal, full-scale bids, before the weekend deadline for other possible buyers to come forward.
Reuters reported that Blackstone was offering up to 10% more than Michael Dell's offer of $13.65 a share. Major shareholders, other than the founder, who owns 16%, have protested that his offer significantly undervalued the company and pledged to vote against it.
Dell has been listed publicly for 24 years and was booming at the beginning of the previous decade through online sales of cheap PCs and low production costs. But its fortunes have declined, and it has only a 10% share of the global PC market that has been superseded by consumers' moving to tablets and smartphones.
Analysts believe any buyer could sell off the underperforming PC division that still accounts for most of Dell's sales and about half of its profits. Dell executives say they will seek to expand the software and services it offers for corporate customers, along the full-service model that has worked successfully for IBM.
Source: The Guardian
