Michael Dell (CEO - Dell Technologies)
Dell Technologies plans to interview banks this week to potentially go public through an initial public offering rather than doing so through a proposed acquisition that has drawn resistance from some investors, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
The Round Rock, Texas-based computer company said this summer it would pay US$21.7 billion in cash and stock to buy back shares tied to its interest in software company VMware to return to the stock market without a public offering.
The move to interview banks for an IPO shows there are increasing tensions between Dell and investors who have said the deal undervalues some of its stock, the Journal reported.
"Dell would be one of the largest U.S. companies to launch an IPO," the Journal wrote. "It is far from certain that it will ultimately do so, however, and interviewing banks could be seen as a tactic to put pressure on investors to support the current deal.
Dell has postponed a roadshow for the VMware deal that was scheduled for this week by a week, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The original plan to buy back shares tied to VMware would allow Dell to bypass an IPO process in which Dell would have faced scrutiny over its US$52.7 billion debt pile.
Dell did not immediately return a request for comment.
(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli and Liana Baker; Editing by Will Dunham)
