It has come to light today that the long awaited acquisition by Michael Dell and Silver Lake of Dell is now complete. The company is now a Private Limited company and the shares from the shareholders have been returned.
Michael Dell pitched the idea of taking the company private back in August last year, and the process has been in progress since then. Today, the process of taking Dell private is complete. The acquisition costed $24.4 billion and the acquisition was done along with Michael Dell and Silver Lake today. Interestingly, the acquisition was supported by Microsoft, to help long term success of the PC manufacturing industry.
In a press release from Microsoft, the company has stated that they would constantly support their partners across the world:
“We’re in an industry that is constantly evolving. As always, we will continue to look for opportunities to support partners who are committed to innovating and driving business for their devices and services built on the Microsoft platform.”
Michael Dell would still be the Chairman and CEO of the company, and he now holds a 14% share in the company. Dell has also made a cash investment in the newly formed company, which is a private company. This huge move was advised by a separate team, lead by Alex Mandl, after Michael Dell spoke to the Board of Directors of Dell.
The move was indeed expected by a lot of analysts, to save the company from further damage. Dell was publicly not having a good time in the industry for the past few years, and it lost a major chunk of its value last year. It is worth to note some of the important points that Michael Dell put forward about this acquisition:
“I believe this transaction will open an exciting new chapter for Dell, our customers and team members. We can deliver immediate value to stockholders, while we continue the execution of our long-term strategy and focus on delivering best-in-class solutions to our customers as a private enterprise. Dell has made solid progress executing this strategy over the past four years, but we recognize that it will still take more time, investment and patience, and I believe our efforts will be better supported by partnering with Silver Lake in our shared vision.”
So, from now on, there might not be any pressure for Dell to report their quarterly earnings. Dell would still be at its own HQ at Rock Round in Texas. We wish the company has a great year ahead.