Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners have completed their bid to take the company private. Company shares will no longer trade on the Nasdaq following the close of business today. As part of the $24.9 billion transaction, shareholders will receive a dividend payment of $0.13 per share in addition to $13.75 for each share owned for total consideration of $13.88 per share in cash.
Starting tomorrow, the company will have just two shareholders: Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners. That has to be a relief for Dell’s founder as he has been trying to take the company private since early this year but was met with stiff opposition from shareholders and activist investor Carl Icahn. The outspoken investor believed the deal undervalued the company but ultimately backed down last month.
The transaction ends an era for Dell that saw the company traded publically for 25 years. They were among the few heavyweights that helped shape the early days of personal computing but with the current shift from PCs to mobile devices, it’s time for a change.
Looking forward, Dell plans to be more aggressive and expand their presence in emerging markets. Furthermore, we can expect them to transition from a maker of personal computers to a mobile device business.
During an interview with All Things D last month, Michael Dell said we can expect a significant wave of tablets from them. True enough, the company recently started accepting pre-orders for the Dell Venue 8 Pro which is a Bay Trail-powered Windows 8.1 small form factor slate. Priced competitively at $299, it’s expected to compete with similar offerings from Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba this holiday season.
