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