Dell, the Texas-based technology company that helped make the desktop personal computer mainstream, is reportedly in talks to go private with the help of private equity firms, according to a report issued by Bloomberg news citing sources familiar with the situation.
Dell’s stock, which is listed on the NASDAQ, is currently experiencing a skyrocketing share price apparently in response to the news. Within minutes of Bloomberg’s report, Dell’s stock price shot up more than 15 percent from around $10.92 per share to more than $12.70 per share.
Dell was founded in 1984 and held its initial public offering in 1988. The company’s market cap is currently around $20 billion. According to the Bloomberg report, Dell is in talks with “at least two” private equity firms who could finance the deal.
This is not the first time take-private rumors have swirled around Dell in recent years. Back in 2010 the company was reported to be looking into going private after experiencing a lackluster stock market performance. At that time, the company’s top-level executives did not rule out that taking the company out of the glare of the public markets could be a smart move.
This rumor may inspire a bit of schadenfreude in those who have kept tabs on the tech industry for a while now. When asked about Apple back in 1997, Michael Dell famously said: “What would I do? I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.” But it bears mention that going private through a leveraged buyout is by no means a method of shutting down a company — it does, however, often signal that serious layoffs and restructuring could be on deck.
We’ve reached out to Dell for comment and will update this with any information we receive.
Dell is an end-to-end solutions provider that has evolved from a PC manufacturer to an enterprise IT solutions partner with servers, storage, networking, software and services that enable customers to drive results, create competitive advantage and expand their opportunities.
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
San Francisco, CA
Berlin, Germany
