Among the details Dell Inc. revealed Thursday about its deal talks are that founder Michael Dell had asked Blackstone Group LP for details about who would run the company under the private-equity firm’s proposed scenario for buying the computer maker.
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- Reuters |
Blackstone didn’t provide him with such information, the filing said. People familiar with the buyout firm’s thinking have said it decided it didn’t want to move ahead with a bid before it ever reached conclusions about management structure.
Blackstone on April 18 told the company it decided against bidding for it.
Blackstone representatives spent ten days at the headquarters of Dell poring over numbers before deciding to drop out of the process. People familiar with the efforts said Blackstone’s focus was primarily on whether it could get comfortable with the company’s prospects, not with the governance that would result if any deal happened.
Mr. Dell had several meetings with Blackstone representatives, the filing said, including with Blackstone’s chairman and chief executive Stephen A. Schwarzman, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mr. Dell and Silver Lake Partners in February agreed to a $24.4 billion buyout of Dell. Mr. Dell is rolling over his entire investment and adding additional equity into the deal, consolidating his control on the company as he has argued taking it private will allow him to make the tough decisions needed to transform the company.
Some shareholders have argued against the deal, saying the $13.65 per share offer undervalues the company and that Mr. Dell could complete any transformation in public.
When Blackstone jumped into the fray for Dell with a preliminary offer, a looming question had been whether or not it could reach an agreement with Mr. Dell on who would control the company.
In late March, Mr. Dell requested that Blackstone representatives send him a proposal outlining how a deal would work, the filing says. Mr. Dell had been seeking information on how Blackstone would structure any deal, including specifics on its capital structure, equity ownership and governance, the filing said.
His role was viewed as a key cog for how a deal would work, particularly given the equity he could provide. Both he and Blackstone had been open to talking about his role, people familiar with the matter had said.
Since Blackstone dropped out, Dell shares have slid below the $13.65 offer from Silver Lake and Mr. Dell and closed Thursday at $13.33.