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They said yes, grins Dell Technologies: Expects to go public this month
Class V shareholders agree to sell or swap the stock
Class C shares in Dell Technologies are to start trading on the New York Stock Exchange before the year is out, after it today removed an obstacle that was hindering its ability to do so.
In July, Dell had asked owners of Class V stock, created to fund the buy of EMC in 2016, to approve the sale of those shares for $109 each or to swap them for 1.3665 Class C stock but encountered rebellion from corporate raider Carl Icahn and other institutional investors.
This led Michael Dell to up the offer to $120 in cash or to swap each of them for between 1.5043 and 1.8130 shares of Class C stock. And today 61 per cent of those Class V owners approved the transaction.
The voters accounted for more than 89 per cent of the outstanding Class V stock voted by unaffiliated Class V common stockholders who cast a ballot. The deal was also agreed by Class A and Class B common stock owners.
“With this vote, we are simplifying Dell Technologies capital structure and aligning the interests of our investors,” said Dell CEO and chairman Mick D in a statement. “This strengthens our strategic position, as we continue to deliver innovation, long-term vision and integrated solutions from the edge to the core of the cloud”.
Dell said it expects the transaction to close on 28 December, and for the Class C shares to be traded on NYSE.
The man Dell – chief exec, famously described by The Reg's Chris Mellor as an "ordinary guy" – took his business private in 2013 as he felt the level of upheaval to improves its fortunes should not have been done under the glare of Wall Street. Of course he's likely made a couple of quid out of it too.
Dell Technologies is the umbrella brand that houses Dell EMC and the other collection of businesses including RSA Security and majority-owned VMware. ®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
