Go to Dell, Blackstone!
Dell Inc.’s chances of finding a rival bidder, including Blackstone Group, were quickly fading yesterday as a midnight “go-shop” deadline to trump private equity-led Silver Lake Partners’ $24.4 billion offer came and went.
Shares of the Round Rock, Texas, PC maker were left unchanged at $14.14 yesterday, with investor hopes of grabbing a sweeter offer than the $13.65-a-share bid made by Silver Lake and founder Michael Dell, heading south.
Dell could still see a bid for components of its operations, including a financial services arm — from Blackstone or others, as reports have suggested.
But as of yesterday, it appeared that no rivals were prepared to step forward and submit a higher offer for the entire company.
To be sure, there’s still a window of opportunity for private-equity firms to submit a more attractive bid over the next several weeks, even as Dell tries to rally shareholders to vote on the current Silver Lake buyout proposal.
The so-called go-shop period is only intended as a 45-day time frame that Dell’s board, represented by Evercore Partners, can use to actively court higher offers — thereby demonstrating that they have done their due diligence for shareholders.
Now, the campaign to garner shareholder approval will begin.
At the same time, shareholders including billionaire Carl Icahn and activist money manager Southeastern Asset Management will continue to press the company for a deal that values the tech giant significantly higher.