Dell reportedly in talks with buyout firms on going private

PanARMENIAN.Net - Dell Inc. has held talks recently with buyout firms Silver Lake Partners and TPG about going private, as the technology company struggles to find a new course for itself following the end of the personal-computer boom, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Talks between Dell and private-equity firms have been going on for the last two to three months, according to people with knowledge of the conversations.

One of these people described the talks as "serious" and said that they heated up late last year and any possible deal — if one were to be struck — likely would emerge within six weeks.

Private-equity firms have approached Dell off and on for several years, the people familiar with the matter said. But things heated up recently because Dell's "valuation is off the charts low," one industry executive said.

Silver Lake Partners and TPG have been in talks on the deal and could team on an offer, said people familiar with the matter. They added that it is possible that others such as pension funds could invest alongside them.

The people cautioned that a bidding group hadn't been finalized and the situation was fluid. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is involved in the deal process, the people said. Several banks are in discussions about providing financing, they added.

A buyout of the PC giant, if completed, according to The Journal, would be among the biggest leveraged buyouts since before the 2008 financial crisis, when a collapse of credit cut off the spigot for large multi-firm deals that took companies private.

Some bankers and analysts on Monday were skeptical a buyout of Dell could be pulled together easily, if at all. However, robust debt markets, combined with the recent decline in Dell's stock price, could help make the time right, they said.