The Blackstone Group has walked away from Dell Inc., but that doesn’t mean Michael Dell’s buyout offer for his PC maker will have the field to itself.
Southeastern Asset Management, Dell’s largest independent shareholder, is weighing a restructuring plan for the embattled company, The Post has learned.
While there is no guarantee the plan will be put to shareholders, Southeastern is cobbling together a proposal to counter what it considers an insufficient offer from the company’s founder, a source claiming direct knowledge of the situation said.
Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners have offered $13.65 a share to take Dell private.
The Southeastern plan might include having Dell distribute some of its more than $9 billion in net cash to shareholders, the source said.
Southeastern Asset, which has said publicly the business is worth more than $20 a share, declined comment.
Blackstone considered making a rival offer and then backed away. Now, the PC maker is aiming for a mid-June shareholder vote.
Southeastern realizes it needs to offer a firm alternative in order to succeed in gaining enough support to defeat the Michael Dell-led offer, the source said.
A leading Dell shareholder, who did not know of the Southeastern plan, said, “I don’t think people are happy with the Dell price, but you need some viable alternative [or Dell’s bid will succeed].”
Shareholder advisory service ISS is in the early stages of doing homework on the Dell offer, and its recommendation may tilt the vote, especially with index funds.
Michael Dell has agreed not to vote his leading shareholder stake.
Longtime Dell shareholders Southeastern and T. Rowe Price, which would lose money under the Dell offer, will likely vote against the deal, sources said.
Traders who bought in near the beginning of the year when the stock was around $10 a share will likely snap up the offer.