Dell today announced that its acquisition by Dell founder Michael Dell and investment firm Silver Lake Partners has officially completed. The transaction, which cost Dell and his partners $24.9 billion, has taken the Dell company private. Michael Dell has stated on previous occasions that the initiative should allow the company to re-focus with a longer-term strategy related to its enterprise solutions.
“Today, Dell enters an exciting new chapter as a private enterprise,” said Dell. “Our 110,000 team members worldwide are 100 percent focused on our customers and aggressively executing our long-term strategy for their benefit.”
As part of the agreement, Dell stockholders as of this past Monday will be paid $13.88 cash per share owned. Those stockholders had approved the acquisition last month at a special shareholder’s meeting. Trading in Dell stock was ended at the close of NASDAQ on Tuesday and its shares will soon be delisted.
It has been nearly nine months since the proposal was first announced early this year. At that time, Michael Dell has stated that the company needed a patience that stockholders were not prepared to give it in order to turn revenues around. The process was then delayed by billionaire investor Carl Ichan, who believed the acquisition was a severe undervaluation of the Dell company. Ichan gave up his protest in early September, paving the way for shareholders to clear the deal.