Michael Dell’s proposed $24.4bn deal to take his company private marks an audacious bid to use his immense fortune to rescue the personal computer maker he founded three decades ago in his college dormitory room.
If approved by shareholders, the deal would be the largest buyout since the financial crisis, and the largest tech buyout ever. Yet even with Microsoft and Silver Lake Partners at his side, Mr Dell now faces the complicated task of trying to make Dell relevant again in the face of growing competition from mobile computing.
Mr Dell said on Monday that going private would give the company the “time, investment and patience” needed to execute its turnround. However, no member of Mr Dell’s consortium offered details of the strategy, or specifics on how being private would benefit the company.