UPDATED 15:51 EDT / SEPTEMBER 13 2013

After 14 Months, Michael Dell Secures Company Throne

Dell shareholders on Thursday gave Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners the go-ahead to take the company private, thereby ending one of the fiercest IT bidding wars in recent memory. Carl Icahn, the only rival bidder, withdrew his offer three days prior to the vote.

Dell and Silver Lake are paying a total of $24.9 billion for the computer maker. Investors will receive $13.75 per share and a special dividend of 13 cent per share, in addition to an eight cent per share quarterly dividend that will be paid when the company holds its next earnings call in November. Michael Dell will end up with a 75 percent stake in his namesake firm.

“I am pleased with this outcome and am energized to continue building Dell into the industry’s leading provider of scalable, end-to-end technology solutions,” Michael Dell said in a statement. “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 told shareholders that he plans to double down on engineering and invest more in partner programs, global operations and acquisitions. Chief financial officer Brian Gladden added that the company is not looking to buy any major vendors, but rather smaller, private companies that can bolster its increasingly diversified solutions portfolio. “We will continue to make acquisitions where necessary but I suspect they’ll be more complementary,” he explained.

Defying rumors, Gladden also revealed that Dell plans to hold on to its struggling PC business despite diminishing demand and increased competition. Still, the vendor will look to expand its presence in the more lucrative enterprise market with new software and services.


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