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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
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BUSINESS
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Updated April 18, 2013, 9:43 p.m. ET
Blackstone Ends Pursuit of
Dell
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Blackstone Group LP
has ended its pursuit of
Dell Inc., less than a month after the private-equity firm said it would
try to top a leveraged buyout by the computer maker's founder and a rival
private-equity firm.
Blackstone had been putting
together a bid for Dell to top the offer from founder
Michael Dell and private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners. Blackstone's
offer would have kept part of the company in the hands of public
shareholders.
A
Blackstone spokesman declined to comment. The firm's reasons for dropping
its potential bid were unclear.
Investor
Carl Icahn also said he planned to bid for Dell. It is not clear where
Mr. Icahn's potential offer stands.
A
special committee of Dell board members earlier said it believed both
potential counterbids could be superior to the Silver Lake deal and that it
would evaluate both offers should either Blackstone or Mr. Icahn present a
firm bid.
The
halt to Blackstone's rival deal effort leaves Silver Lake and Mr. Dell in a
stronger position to push ahead with their offer to buy all of the company's
shares not owned by Mr. Dell and his affiliates for $13.65 apiece.
Still, investors hoping for a sweeter offer had pushed up Dell shares above
the proposed buyout price, and several large Dell shareholders had agitated
against the deal from Silver Lake and Mr. Dell. It's unclear if Blackstone's
failed bid will change their thinking.
Since Blackstone formally expressed its interest in making a bid for Dell in
late March, more evidence emerged of a sinking market for personal
computers, Dell's largest source of revenue. Last week, market-research firm
IDC said global shipments of personal computers fell nearly 14% in the first
quarter from the same stretch a year ago. IDC said it was the worst
quarterly drop for PC shipments since it started tracking the data in 1994.
Dell shipped 11% fewer PCs than a year earlier, according to the IDC
figures.
Blackstone had been in negotiations with Mr. Dell on whether he would roll
into their deal the 16% of shares he and his affiliates control, as he is
doing with Silver Lake, people familiar with the discussions said.
The
two sides had several meetings, but it remained unclear if they could reach
a deal that would leave Mr. Dell controlling the future of his namesake
company, a condition he attached to rolling his stake, one of the people
said.
Blackstone had also been in talks with other potential CEOs for Delll.
In 4 p.m.
Nasdaq Stock Market trading Thursday, Dell shares were at $13.95, down 2
cents.
—Shira Ovide contributed to
this article
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