A private-equity-led consortium is expecting to announce a buyout deal for Dell as early as next week, The Post has learned.
A deal at between $15 and $16 a share for the Round Rock, Tex.-based PC maker founded by Michael Dell could be announced as early as Sunday or Monday, according to sources.
The deal partners, including the 47-year-old Dell founder, have been hammering out the finer points of the leveraged buyout, including the various ownership stakes.
Microsoft is expected to contribute some $2 billion in capital to help fund the $24 billion takeover, which would be one of the largest deals of the year and the largest LBO since private-equity’s golden era back in 2007.
PE giant Silver Lake is believed to have lined up a cadre of bankers, including Bank of America, to provide some $15 billion in financing.
The lead arrangers of the deal have been hashing out a number of key items, sources said, including how much of a breakup fee should be demanded in case a rival bidder emerges.
Bankers have said that the buyout team does not want to appear to impede a possible rival offer by asking for too high a break-up fee.
Reports have indicated that boutique advisory firm Evercore Partners has been hired by Dell’s board to explore the interest of any other bidders.
So far, no other takers have emerged, but once the specifics of the deal are revealed, that could change, sources said.
JPMorgan Chase is currently serving as lead advisor to Dell but is not expected to provide any financing for the deal.
Dell closed down nearly 1 percent in trading yesterday, at $13.24.