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Dell is going public again
Dell went private back in 2013 to reorganize without quite so much external pressure to perform. Now, however, it's ready to go public once again. The company has unveiled a plan to buy its own tracking stock in a $21.7 billion deal that, in exchange, will offer a "new class" of public stock on the NYSE. The move won't change Dell's control over VMware (which it took when it bought EMC), but it could help Dell pay off its debt at a faster rate than it has so far.
Michael Dell and Silver Lake up their offer for Dell buyout
The competition for Dell is heating up again today, as CEO Michael Dell and investment outfit Silver Lake have increased their buyout offer for the company. The new agreement raises the per share price to $13.75, provides for a special dividend of 13 cents per share, as well as an 8 cents per share dividend in the third quarter. Basically, these revised terms add, at the most, $470 million to the previous proposal that valued the company at around $24.4 billion. In order to give shareholders a chance to mull it over, the date when deciding votes will be cast has been pushed to September 12th. Plenty of time for the next counter-offer to come through, then.
Microsoft's acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion becomes official
It was pretty much known about since last night, but Microsoft and Skype have now obliterated any lingering doubt in the matter: the Redmond-based software giant will acquire the internet telephony company for a cool $8.5 billion in cash. Xbox and Kinect support are explicitly mentioned in the announcement of this definitive agreement, as is Windows Phone integration -- both the gaming and mobile aspects being presumably key incentives for Microsoft to acquire Skype. Importantly, this purchase shouldn't affect Skypers outside of the Microsoft ecosystem, as Steve Ballmer's team promises to continue "to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms." Skype was first sold for a relative bargain at $2.5b to eBay in 2005, who in turn sold most of it off to Silver Lake in 2009 at an overall valuation of $2.75b, and now Redmond is concluding proceedings by tripling those earlier prices and offering Skype a permanent home. A new Microsoft Skype Division will now be opened up to accommodate the newcomers, with current Skype CEO Tony Bates becoming president of that operation and reporting directly to Ballmer. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year and you can read Microskype's full announcement after the break. Update: Microsoft has just disclosed a couple more details about the deal. It was signed last night, May 9th, though the price was finalized on April 18th. You can follow a live stream of Steve Ballmer and Tony Bates' presentation right here.
