Will it? Won't it? And for how much?
Those are the questions being asked by Dell shareholders today, regarding a rumored leverage buyout of the company by several financing partners including Silver Lake Partners, Microsoft and others.
The answers could be a few hours or a few days away, depending on the reports circulating.
One report by Reuters said negotiations were in a final state with a final price expected between $13.50 and $13.75 per share.
[Related: 6 Reasons Dell Should Go Private]
A report last Friday by the New York Post put the deal at closer to $15 to $16 per share, but Wall Street clearly believes the final price will be somewhat lower than that. Dell shares were trading at $13.28 Monday afternoon, down 35 cents or 2.6 percent. By contrast, the Dow Jones index was down 0.9 percent and Nasdaq was off 1.3 percent Monday.
Meanwhile, the waiting game continues for anxious Dell investors. The proposed LBO has been a subject of fierce speculation for weeks, with a deal seemingly getting closer each day.
Most reports, citing sources close to the negotiations, expect Silver Lake to be the lead financing partner with Microsoft contributing up to $2 billion and Dell CEO Michael Dell adding nearly $1 billion of his own money while keeping control of the company after it goes private.
PUBLISHED FEB. 4, 2013
