Carl Icahn Weighs In on New Dell Offer

Photo of Paul Ausick
By Paul Ausick Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Dell HQ
courtesy Dell Inc.
Activist investor Carl Icahn filed suit yesterday to prevent the special committee of the board of directors at Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) from changing the record date for voting purposes on the offer from the company’s founder, Michael Dell, and Silver Lake Partners. Earlier today the special committee announced a deal with Dell-Silver Lake that includes changing the record date from February 5 to August 13.

A special shareholders’ meeting will be held September 12 where the latest offer from Dell-Silver Lake will be considered and the company’s annual meeting has been schedule for the following month.

Icahn does not like any of this. Here’s part of his reply as reported at The Wall Street Journal:

Through its actions today, the Special Committee has finally acknowledged publicly what we have been saying all along – that Michael Dell’s offer substantially undervalues the company. Obviously Mr. Dell’s previous characterization of his offer as “best and final” was neither. However, we are not satisfied – we believe that an increase of a mere 13 cents is an insult to shareholders. And promising shareholders an additional 8-cent dividend that we were already entitled to, and pretending that it is some sort of gift, is a further slap in the face. We also continue to believe that the Special Committee is improperly putting its thumb on the scales in favor of Mr. Dell’s offer by changing the voting rules midstream and by refusing to hold the Special Meeting and the Annual Meeting on the same date and time – the only mechanism that would give shareholders a true choice. As such, we will continue to vigorously pursue our lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Dell’s shares are trading up 5.4% at $13.65 in a 52-week range of $8.69 to $14.64.

Photo of Paul Ausick
About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

Our $500K AI Portfolio

See us invest in our favorite AI stock ideas for free

Our Investment Portfolio

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618