back to article Michael Dell: 'Cash in your shares, we are in a mess'

Dell is such a risky bet that it's a wonder shareholders invested their hard-earned cash in the stock in the first place. At least that is the impression given by Texan Mike, who outlined the challenges of remaining a PLC in an SEC filing as he steps up efforts to woo investors weeks before they vote on his $13.65 per share …

COMMENTS

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  1. unwarranted triumphalism

    Doesn't matter

    Apple should *still* be broken up and the money given back to the shareholders.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Doesn't matter

      Sounds like it might actually happen to Dell though..

  2. Michael Jennings

    Oh, how the ghost of Steve Jobs is laughing.

  3. Herby

    Shakiness of Dell

    Just makes other vendors look better.

    Do you really think that after the action (whatever it is) Dell will be the company it once was? I have doubts. It appears that other people who rely upon Dell for their boxen share similar thoughts.

    Anyway, time will tell. Watch this space (next year) for an update.

    1. asdf

      Re: Shakiness of Dell

      >Just makes other vendors look better.

      Not if their main business is selling x86 gear (Lenova aside for now). That market is cratering before everyone's eyes.

      1. elderlybloke
        Thumb Up

        Re: Shakiness of Dell

        asdf-Perhaps you mean crashing.

        .

    2. Steve Knox
      Holmes

      Re: Shakiness of Dell

      Do you really think that after the action (whatever it is) Dell will be the company it once was?

      Well since the stated goals of both individuals involved are to make Dell into something other than the company it is, I'd think the answer to that is rather obvious.

    3. P. Lee
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Shakiness of Dell

      The Shakiness of Dell just pushes the value of the shares down and makes more money for Mr Dell when the upturn comes.

      Or did I misunderstand the "give me your shares for less" pitch?

  4. The Godfather
    Pint

    Go-man-Go

    Michael Dell is absolutely correct in what he says...refreshing to find this in one so willing to see the perils of an old style Dell that started, peaked and ploughed the PC fields so successfully. He knows and acknowledges what's happening while others still cling to dying ideals and dissipating activities...nothing wrong in being visionary.

    1. Wanda Lust

      Re: Go-man-Go

      Visionary is the same as seeing the writing on the wall.

      A business whose model, or let's say 'raison d'etre', has been building stuff a few bucks cheaper than the other guy and selling it efficiently isn't well placed to pull of the sort of transformation that's required.

      If Michael Dell can pull the business back to private ownership, then fair play to him, it's the only way to the transformation he foresees.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      WTF?

      Re: Go-man-Go

      Would he be so honest if he WASNT trying to get the share price down??

      I dont know, trash talking the company, so the share price falls and he can buy it on the cheap doesnt sound very honest to me.

  5. Robert E A Harvey
    Coat

    trying to get the share price down?

    I suspect he read Gerald Ratner's biography

    <-- mines got the £1.99 bling hanging out the pockets

    1. The Dark Lord

      Re: trying to get the share price down?

      He's not trying to get the price down - the price is fixed. He's trying to get investors to choose his path. Of course, talking down (probably fairly realistically) the company brings the current price of the shares below his offer price, making it look more attractive to investors.

      I've had a lot of exposure as customer and support engineer to Dell products in the last 15 years, and most of their kit has been good quality stuff. Hopefully the company will be able to come back to life in the way HP hasn't, and BlackBerry & Nokia won't.

      1. Mad Hacker
        Facepalm

        Re: trying to get the share price down?

        You say: He's not trying to get the price down

        Then you say: talking down ... the company brings the current price of the shares [down]

        Way to contradict yourself. Well done sir. (Sorry I used "sir" if you are female. I guess a Dark Lord could just as easily be female.)

  6. pctechxp

    Apple fans have short memories

    Remember that your beloved technology was bailed out by MS not long after St Steve took the helm for the second time.

    1. El_Fev

      Re: Apple fans have short memories

      Microsoft wanted to help the continued dominance of office, and to think if they had of bought apple shares , Big G mighyt have been far and away the richest man in the world.

      1. Tom 13

        Re: help the continued dominance of office,

        Er, no!

        MS was in the midst of keeping themselves out of the pokey. If Apple had gone under at that point MS really would have been a monopoly in the PC world. It was worth pocket change to give Jobs 3% of the market and avoid permanent government regulation.

  7. IGnatius T Foobar
    FAIL

    Breaking up with EMC was a mistake

    Breaking up with EMC was a mistake. Even though EMC kit is very cranky and cantankerous, they are an established player in the enterprise storage space and they lent Dell some credibility when they needed to land a serious storage deal. Instead, Dell thought they could play in the enterprise space with their Equalogic and Compellent (Eq-dell-ogic and Com-dell-ent) acquisitions, perhaps a good value in the SMB space, but enterprise kit it is not.

  8. Wall-meet-Head

    Private is the only way out of the Wall St parade

    I used to work for Dell and I've met the man himself. Going private is absolutely the only way out of the mess: he came back to the company to turn it found, and Wall Street hasn't given him the leeway to tAke a hit for 4-6 quarters whilst the necessary changes are made. He has definitely got the right idea, and just needs the freedom to crack on and deliver

  9. Mad Hacker
    Childcatcher

    So is it legal to manipulate your own share price?

    Clearly he is bagging on Dell to bring the stock price down so his private offer looks better. And he's in a good position to be able to do that too. Is that legal?

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