Dell founder offers low-key response to Charlottesville violence

Tech giants like Apple and Intel have vocally opposed both the racist violence in Charlottesville and President Trump's equivocating response to it, but former manufacturing council member Dell has remained silent. Where's its statement? Well, compan...

Dell merger clears final regulatory hurdles in bid to go private

Dell clears final regulatory hurdles, will go private next year

Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners' joint bid to take Dell private has just cleared its final obstacle: regulatory approval. That means the deal is now all but completed. The transaction, valued at $25 billion, will see Dell transitioning to a private entity by the end of the company's fiscal Q3 2014 (which wraps this month). It also puts the company back firmly in Michael Dell's control, as he'll now own 75 percent of the new entity. And, as he discussed on the company's last open call with investors, that means a return to "innovation" for the PC, tablet and enterprise markets that will come to define the new Dell.

Update: The post has been updated to reflect accurate timing for the transaction.

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Source: Dell

Daily Roundup: HP Haswell Chromebook hands-on, Dell going private, Samsung’s 64-bit CPUs, and more!

DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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Dell board votes in favor of Michael Dell’s $24.9 billion buyout offer

Dell board votes in favor Michael Dell's $249 billion buyout offer

Dell has finally agreed to let founder Michael Dell take the company private through a partnership with investment firm Silver Lake Partners, in a deal valued $24.9 billion. The transaction, which is still pending regulatory approval, should see stockholders receiving $13.88 per share of common stock (including payment of a special cash dividend) and is expected to close in Q3 of Dell's 2014 fiscal year. In a statement released to the press, Michael Dell said that the newly private company's mission will be to "serve our customers with a single-minded purpose and drive the innovations that will help them achieve their goals."

Update: On the company's investor call, Michael Dell, who retains 75 percent ownership under this new structure, reaffirmed Dell's commitment to innovation and customer service -- goals he said can now be better achieved "without the scrutiny of operating as a public company." He also outlined several key areas of focus for the newly private Dell, among which expanding its presence in emerging markets, investing in R&D and acquisitions for enterprise solutions, as well as the PC, tablet and virtual computing space are key pillars.

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Michael Dell and Silver Lake up their offer for Dell buyout

Michael Dell and Silver Lake up their offer for Dell buyout

The competition for Dell is heating up again today, as CEO Michael Dell and investment outfit Silver Lake have increased their buyout offer for the company. The new agreement raises the per share price to $13.75, provides for a special dividend of 13 cents per share, as well as an 8 cents per share dividend in the third quarter. Basically, these revised terms add, at the most, $470 million to the previous proposal that valued the company at around $24.4 billion. In order to give shareholders a chance to mull it over, the date when deciding votes will be cast has been pushed to September 12th. Plenty of time for the next counter-offer to come through, then.

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Via: AllThingsD

Dell CEO memo talks of a ‘significant’ boost to PCs and tablets in restructuring

Dell CEO memo talks of a 'significant' boost to PC and tablets with restructuring

When Michael Dell signaled intentions to take his company private for an overhaul, there were questions as to just what he wanted to do if and when shareholders weren't watching his every move: was he going to shift attention away from PCs toward the enterprise? There's no reason to worry, according to a staff memo that his company has published through the SEC. Dell tells his employees that the firm will "significantly increase investment" in PCs and tablets after going private. While he's cryptic about what that means, he does note that there would be a shift away from valuing gross margins -- in other words, the company may take a hit on profits to make its device sales sing. Other strategies are more what you'd expect from any good business: more research and development, a simpler experience and a stronger push into developing markets like Brazil and China. We can't say we're completely surprised when Microsoft made an investment in Dell's reorg precisely to safeguard PCs, but it's good to know that Dell's interest in PCs still extends well beyond the server room.

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Via: Fortune

Source: SEC

Dell announces that it’s going private, assisted by $2 billion loan from Microsoft

The rumors were true. Dell has announced that it will go private, assisted by a $2 billion loan from Microsoft. The full deal between stockholders, Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake is being valued at around $24.4 billion. The exchange, which has been in the works since August, will involve a $2 billion loan from Redmond, as well as debt financing from other companies involved. According to the press release (included after the break) Mr. Dell will continue as CEO if the move goes through, adding his shares and additional capital.

Update: Microsoft has issued a statement about the funding deal with Dell:

"Microsoft has provided a $2 billion loan to the group that has proposed to take Dell private. Microsoft is committed to the long term success of the entire PC ecosystem and invests heavily in a variety of ways to build that ecosystem for the future."

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Source: Microsoft