Mr. Icahn, please call your office: Dell strikes buyout deal
Dell's special committee has reached an agreement with the buyout group led by CEO Michael Dell to purchase the company for $13.75 per share, the computer maker announced on Friday, the latest wrinkle in an ongoing saga that has pitted the technology giant against one of its biggest shareholders.
The Round Rock, Texas, company said a group led by its founder and the investment firm Silver Lake Partners will tack a one-time shareholder payout of 13 cents per share to an offer they made last week to buy the company for $13.75 per share. Michael Dell is funding the 13 cents a share special dividend personally.
The company, which has been locked in a public brawl with billionaire investor Carl Icahn, has indicated it is changing its voting standard for a new, higher offer. Toward that end, Dell dramatically reduced the amount it would cost to break up the deal, to $180 million from $450 million. That may open the door for an eventual agreement with the activist Icahn, who has agitated for months to buy the struggling computer giant.
Icahn responded to the new deal via Twitter stating, "We are pleased to have won another battle in the Dell war but the war itself is far from over. More to follow."
On Thursday, Icahn filed a lawsuit to prevent Dell from setting a new record date, the latest in a series of efforts to derail the deal. According to the company, the terms of Dell's buyout agreement include moving the record date to mid-August.
(Read more: Icahn fileslawsuit over latest Dell buyout offer)
Icahn isn't the only investor against the deal.
Shareholder Stephen Yacktman, in a statement, said, "The company, increases in value every month. There is no increase in valuation being paid. Shareholders are just getting paid with their own money."
He added: "If the special committee was truly concerned about the shareholders, they would let the shareholders vote on Icahn's proposal and board. What kind of board makes shareholders sue to get to be able to exercise their legal right to vote? By law, the shareholder meeting needs to beheld by mid-August.
"This behavior should come as no surprise when you look at the history of the company. There have been problems with option backdating and accounting restatements. If you go back to 1993, Dell was sued for selling Dell shares while in the possession on material adverse, non-public information.
"With all of these negligible increases in price, the noise is drowning out the real opportunity. The real value creation option that really needs full consideration here is removing the current board and Michael Dell from Dell."
In mid-morning trading on the Nasdaq, Dell's shares spiked by more than 5 percent from Thursday's closing price. (For the latest stock price, click here.)
Shareholders were scheduled to vote this morning on a lower offer to buy the company for $13.65 per share. That vote has been postponed.
Shareholders who own the stock as of Aug. 13 will now be eligible to vote at a Sept. 12 special meeting on the new deal. The company will hold its annual meeting on Oct. 17.
—CNBC's David Faber reported this story; writing by Javier E. David. The Associated Press contributed to this report.