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THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
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TECHNOLOGY | Updated August 5,
2013, 7:34 p.m. ET
Carl Icahn Buys 4 Million
Dell Shares
Vocal Detractor of Company
Buyout Now Owns 8.9% |
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By
DAVID BENOIT
Carl Icahn bought four million more shares of
Dell Inc. last week, according to a securities filing, upping his stake
slightly in an ongoing fight against the technology company's buyout.
Mr. Icahn now holds 156.5 million
shares, or 8.9% of the company, boosting his stake from 8.7%. He is the
largest shareholder after founder and Chief Executive
Michael Dell. The two are locked in a battle over the future of the
company, as Mr. Icahn has pitted himself against Mr. Dell's plan to take his
company private.
Last week, the company and Mr.
Dell, along with his deal partners at private-equity firm Silver Lake,
agreed to delay a vote on the pending buyout as the investor group boosted
its bid.
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Getty
Carl Icahn
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The group agreed to pay $13.75 a
share, 10 cents more per share than the original deal, added a special
dividend of 13 cents a share and guaranteed the regular eight-cent quarterly
dividend would be paid.
Mr. Icahn has led the charge of
shareholders attempting to scuttle the buyout; he has proposed his own plan,
which would see the company use debt to repurchase a majority of shares and
leave some of the company public.
As part of the delay, the company
last week pushed until Aug. 13 the so-called record date that determines
which shareholders can vote. That change effectively made it open season for
investors to buy shares that will now be able to vote in the deal.
According to Mr. Icahn's filing,
he bought the shares on Thursday, the day before the announcement of the
increased bid and the same day he filed a lawsuit seeking to have any delay
in the vote blocked.
Mr. Icahn earlier this year
agreed to keep his stake in Dell below 10%. His lawsuit has also sought to
block Mr. Dell from buying more shares, citing the fact that Mr. Icahn had a
standstill on purchases.
Mr. Icahn is already in position
to benefit from the share purchases. He bought the shares at an average
price of $12.94, the filing says, meaning he would be up about $3 million as
of Monday's close on last week's purchase.
Dell shares on Monday closed
unchanged at $13.68 per share, making Mr. Icahn's stake worth about $2.14
billion.
A representative of the special
board committee that negotiated the deal for Dell wasn't immediately
available for comment, nor was Mr. Icahn.
On Friday, Mr. Icahn said "an
increase of a mere 13 cents is an insult to shareholders" and he said the
special committee "is improperly putting its thumb on the scales in favor of
Mr. Dell's offer.
Write to David Benoit at
david.benoit@dowjones.com
A version of
this article appeared August 6, 2013, on page B2 in the U.S. edition of The
Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Icahn Lifts Stake In Dell to 8.9%.
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