dell2Dell stockholders approved a $24.9 billion deal Thursday to let Founder Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners buyout the company and take it private.
In a special meeting, the stockholders approved the deal in which they will receive $13.75 in cash and a dividend of 13 cents per share. They will also receive eight cents per share in a dividend for the fiscal third quarter.
The vote excluded the shares held by Dell, his family, the board of directors and some managers.
The deal will help Dell, based in Round Rock, in its evolution from its roots as a PC manufacturer to a software, cloud-computing, data and storage company.
“As a private enterprise, with a strong private-equity partner, we’ll serve our customers with a single-minded purpose and drive the innovations that will help them achieve their goals,” Dell said in a news release.
He also thanked the company’s 110,000 employees worldwide.
Dell also issued a letter to his customers.
“We are going back to our roots, to the entrepreneurial spirit that made Dell one of the fastest growing, most successful companies in history,” Dell wrote. “We’re unleashing the creativity and confidence that have always been the hallmarks of our culture. We plan to serve you, our customers, with a single-minded purpose and drive the innovations that will help power your dreams.”
“We stand on the cusp of the next technological revolution. The forces of cloud, big data, mobile and security are changing people’s relationship with technology, just as the PC did almost 30 years ago.”
The deal is expected to close by the end of Dell’s third quarter subject to regulatory approvals.
Billionaire Carl Icahn, a Dell shareholder and Southeastern Asset Management, opposed the deal, which was first announced last February. He thought the price was too low and fought to get a better offer. Dell and Silver Lake did raise their offer but Icahn was still not satisfied. He withdrew his opposition earlier this week and issued an open letter to Dell shareholders.
“Mr. Dell celebrated the victory with a big barbecue at his house, according to people with knowledge of the matter. But he said that much hard work remains,” according to this story in the New York Times. “When asked how significant the leveraged buyout will prove in the history of Dell, he said, “It’s a better question a couple of years from now.”