​Dell warns staff of “click bait” media as EMC merger looms - click here for more…

Michael Dell - CEO, Dell

Dell has come out all guns blazing in its attempts to reassure staff that its well documented $US67 billion acquisition of EMC is on track, advising employees to ignore “click bait” media outlets desperate for page views.

Following widespread reports that the tech giant is having trouble financing the deal, the company hit back in a regulatory filing with CEO Michael Dell urging staff to be wary of ongoing industry speculation.

“The media business is under a lot of stress and their business model is sort of cratering,” Dell said in the filing.

“And what they do to survive in those tough times is they create something called click bait. They create an inflammatory headline. So and so was impregnated by aliens, or whatever, click on here to read about this story, see some ads, try to get some money.

“So don’t fall for that, okay. There’s going to be those kind of stories, just like there were during the (2013 shareholder buyout).”

Dell’s warning stems from reports that early financing efforts for the multi-billion dollar deal are meeting strong headwinds, leading to questions around whether May to October closure is now viable.

The New York Post claims that Dell needs to raise $US45 billion in order to finance the acquisition, yet the company required a ten day loan extension to pay the first $US10 billion chunk of debt.

The news also prompted an internal memo sent to staff from Rory Read, Chief Integration Officer, Dell, which again reiterated that the biggest tech merger in history remains on track.

“I want to address some of the chatter over the past few weeks about possible financing headwinds with the transaction,” Read says.

“I can assure you any suggestions our debt financing is in jeopardy are off-target and do not reflect our financing terms and the progress of our financing to date.

“The debt financing is fully-committed and is being underwritten by many of the leading global banks.”

Read says the process of syndicating and placing the debt for a transaction of this nature frequently encompasses a time period of several months from start to finish.

“That process currently is underway and remains on track, as planned,” he adds.

“We anticipate closing the transaction sometime in the May - October timeframe, as originally communicated, subject to achieving customary closing conditions.”