Michael Dells Raises Bid to Retake His Namesake - The UpStream

Michael Dell's plans to buy back his public namesake have had a series of problems since it was initially announced in February. Several of Dell's major investors have taken issue with Michael's plans, believing that it could spell the end for the company.

The loudest of these investors is Carl Icahn, who has urged fellow investors to vote against the purchase. Because of this, Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners have raised their bid from $13.65 to $13.75 per share. This increase ten cent, being split between the two, has had a couple of planned side effects.

First, the planned shareholder meeting has been postponed until next week. This gives Michael and partners time to find and persuade previous abstaining shareholders to vote with them. This will be a challenge, as about 27% of voting shares did not return a vote.

This leads to the second side effect: a change in abstained votes. Originally, an unreturned vote was counted as a no, but instead, under the new rules, they will not be counted at all. This will help the pair to swing the votes in their favor even more. Icahn is no happier with this offer and is still suggesting people vote against it and oust Michael Dell from the company completely.