Icahn Demands Vote On Dell Buyout Bid

Carl Icahn has moved quickly following Dell special committee’s rejection of Michael Dell’s latest $26.6 billion (£17.54bn) proposal to take the company private.

The investor is pushing to have the shareholder vote on the plan go ahead as scheduled on 2 August rather than postpone it for a third time.

No Delay

The billionaire and top Dell investor, who has been working for months to spike the deal, urged the committee not to delay the vote again, saying it was clear that the proposal put together by Michael Dell and financial backer Silver Lake Partners is doomed and should be put to rest.

“Enough! The stockholders have spoken – and they do not want to be frozen out by Michael Dell/Silver Lake,” Icahn wrote in a 31 July letter to the special committee and shareholders. “Let the vote happen on Friday. Michael Dell has said he is ‘at peace either way’. We are glad to hear it! It is time to let the proposed freeze-out merger die.”

Michael Dell and Silver Lake in February unveiled a $24.4 billion (£16.1bn) deal to buy the world’s third-largest PC maker and take it private. The CEO has argued that doing so will help him and other executives speed up the company’s transformation from a PC maker to an enterprise IT solutions and services vendor.

The $13.65 (£9) per-share deal has faced headwinds since it was announced, particularly from big investors – including Icahn, Southeastern Asset Management and T. Rowe Price – who said the offer undervalued the company and promised to vote against it.

Shareholder Rebellion

Icahn and Southeastern have pulled together a competing proposal, offering to buy up to 1.1 billion shares for $14 (£9.23) each with the promise to let investors buy more shares later. The deal would keep the company public, and Icahn has vowed that should he gain control of Dell, Michael Dell would no longer be CEO.

The two sides have spent the past couple of months in a very public debate over the company’s future while working hard behind the scenes to swing shareholders their way.

In recent weeks, it has become apparent that Michael Dell and Silver Lake may not have the necessary 42 percent of shares needed to get the deal approved. The vote initially was scheduled for 18 July, but was delayed until 24 July. Michael Dell last week submitted a new offer that bumped up the price to $13.75 (£9.07) per share, with the caveat that he wanted a change in the voting rules.

Right now, any shares not voted are automatically placed in the “no” column. Michael Dell – despite helping negotiate the terms of the vote as part of the proposal with the special committee selected by the board of directors – has argued that the rule as it stands now is unfair.

“Currently, over 25 percent of the unaffiliated shares have not voted,” Michael Dell wrote in his proposal to the special committee. “This means that even if a majority of the unaffiliated shares that vote on the transaction want to accept our offer, the will of the majority may be defeated by the shares that do not vote. I think this is clearly unfair.”