Dell officials, who believe shareholders view bid as an undervaluation of the company’s potential, postponed a shareholder meeting until July 24th to allow for more time to persuade investors to change their votes to “yes” or to sway the 23% of eligible voters who did not participate in the decision. It will take more than 42% of Dell’s shareholders to approve the deal, and analysts of the situation predict that “there is going to be a lot of arm-twisting.” Opponents to the offer like billionaire Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management have recently increased their last offer of $14 per share to an amount in the range of $15-$18 per share as a last-ditch effort to counter that of Dell, though investors have cited Icahn’s bid as not much of an improvement.
In February Dell first announced his desire to take the company private not only to counter consumer change from PC to smartphones but also to allow for more money to invest in the mobile device market without needing to satisfy investors. His main job now will be changing investor sentiment, and though he has stated before that he is not willing to change his buyout offer, there is some speculation he may simply raise the bid to get the investor support he needs. Stock rose after news of the buyout offer, signaling that more investors may be in favor of the deal.