5 consequences of Dell's $24.4 billion deal to go private

Will Dell PCs make a comeback?

(Credit: Dell)

Dell's $24.4 billion deal to go private is a sign of the times. The PC market is collapsing, Microsoft is trying to save it, and the IPO isn't what it used to be.

The company is about to get a major transformation. Once the deal is completed (with a $2 billion loan from Microsoft as part of the financing), it will be owned by Silver Lake Partners and Dell founder Michael Dell. But what exactly does going private mean for the company? What impact will it have on the markets?

Here are a few potential consequences of the deal:

1. Dell be nimble, Dell be quick

Part of the reason Dell decided to go through the trouble of a leveraged buyout was that it would help it become a nimbler company. Without the public markets, analysts, and the Securities and Exchange Commission to answer to, Dell CEO Michael Dell can theoretically make quicker decisions that will let it respond to Apple and Google.

It remains to be seen whether Dell will actually become more nimble -- it is still a multibillion-dollar corporation, after all -- but if Dell didn't do anything drastic, it was never going to make a significant recovery.

There is another potential benefit to going private: Dell can now implement long-term strategies tha... [Read more]





by Ben Parr via CNET