NEW YORK: Some Dell Inc. shareholders said they are pressuring the board to come up with a contingency plan should a proposed $ 24.4 billion buyout of the No. 3 PC maker fail in the face of investor opposition.
Several large Dell shareholders, who collectively own more than 5 percent of the company, said they believe the $ 13.65 per share bid by founder Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners to take Dell private would fall through unless the terms were improved.
The investors said they told the board the bidders would need to increase the price or offer shareholders a chance to continue to own a piece of the company for them to approve the deal. Failing that, the investors said, they want the board to come up with a ‘Plan B’ for Dell.
“Almost anything is an improvement from what they have offered,” said Don Yacktman, president of Yacktman Asset Management, whose fund owns 14.9 million shares of Dell and has previously said he would vote against the current offer.
