Dell to go private in $24.4 billion deal

ROUND ROCK, Texas, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. computer giant Dell said Tuesday it had agreed to go private in a $24.4 billion deal that is meant to buy time for a turnaround.

Dell Chief Financial Officer Brian Gladden said the deal "immediately delivers value to shareholders." He also said "we do recognize that it (a turnaround) will take more time," and that making changes as a private company would allow Dell more flexibility than it would have as a public firm.

The Wall Street Journal reported Dell co-founder Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Management will buy the computer maker for a price of $13.65 per share, a 25 percent premium above the average share price in the month prior to news of a deal reaching the public.

It will be financed by cash and equity from Michael Dell, a Silver Lake investment fund, a cash contribution from MSD Capital L.P., and a $2 billion loan from Microsoft, the Journal reported.

The company announced that Michael Dell, who currently owns 14 percent of the company's shares, will continue to serve as the company's chairman and chief executive officer.

The company's headquarters will not move from its present home in Round Rock, Texas.