Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has built a 6 percent stake in Dell, about 100 million shares, and plans to join other shareholders opposing the company's proposed leveraged buyout of $13.65 per share, according to reports.
Icahn reportedly has purchased the shares over the last two weeks and will file a Schedule 13D on Dell soon, according to CNBC.
The reports sent Dell's stock up above the $14 mark Wednesday afternoon. Shares were trading at $14.33, up 26 cents or 1.8 percent. It marked the highest mark for Dell's stock since last May.
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Dell shares have been trading above the proposed $13.65 price since shareholders began expressing their displeasure with the deal. The price per share offer represented a 37 percent premium on what Dell shares were trading at before reports surfaced that the company was exploring a leveraged buyout.
Icahn wouldn't discuss Dell, according to CNBC, which cited people familiar with the situation that Dell had met with advisers for Dell's special committee and urged them to pursue a leveraged recapitalization instead of the buyout. The special committee to the board reiterated earlier Wednesday that the go-private transaction was the best option for the company.
Icahn is expected to join other large investors, including Southeastern Asset Management, in opposition to the deal, worth about $24.4 billion with Silver Lake Partners and other financing partners. Dell has until March 22 to entertain other offers during the mandatory "go-shop" period.
Aside from Wednesday's statement from the board's special committee, Dell has declined to comment about growing opposition to the buyout during the go-shop period.
PUBLISHED MARCH 6, 2013
