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By JOSH KOSMAN and MARK DECAMBRE
Last Updated: 12:44 AM, May 2, 2013
Posted: 12:21 AM, May 2, 2013
The
Blackstone Group has walked away from Dell Inc., but that doesn’t mean
Michael Dell’s buyout offer for his PC maker will have the field to
itself.
Southeastern Asset
Management, Dell’s largest independent shareholder, is weighing a
restructuring plan for the embattled company, The Post has learned.
While there is no
guarantee the plan will be put to shareholders, Southeastern is
cobbling together a proposal to counter what it considers an
insufficient offer from the company’s founder, a source claiming
direct knowledge of the situation said.
Michael Dell and
Silver Lake Partners have offered $13.65 a share to take Dell private.
The Southeastern plan
might include having Dell distribute some of its more than $9 billion
in net cash to shareholders, the source said.
Southeastern Asset,
which has said publicly the business is worth more than $20 a share,
declined comment.
Blackstone considered
making a rival offer and then backed away. Now, the PC maker is aiming
for a mid-June shareholder vote.
Southeastern realizes
it needs to offer a firm alternative in order to succeed in gaining
enough support to defeat the Michael Dell-led offer, the source said.
A leading Dell
shareholder, who did not know of the Southeastern plan, said, “I don’t
think people are happy with the Dell price, but you need some viable
alternative [or Dell’s bid will succeed].”
Shareholder advisory
service ISS is in the early stages of doing homework on the Dell
offer, and its recommendation may tilt the vote, especially with index
funds.
Michael Dell has
agreed not to vote his leading shareholder stake.
Longtime Dell
shareholders Southeastern and T. Rowe Price, which would lose money
under the Dell offer, will likely vote against the deal, sources said.
Traders who bought in
near the beginning of the year when the stock was around $10 a share
will likely snap up the offer.
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