It’s now clear Michael Dell stands to make a fortune from Dell’s privatization, turnaround and inevitable return to public stock markets. So much so, here’s an update on what it meant to be the victor: While Carl Icahn made a small profit challenging Dell for greenmail before ultimately ceding defeat, Michael Dell has accrued a paper fortune from the deal that is in itself greater than the net worth of his onetime foe, Icahn.
That’s the takeaway from Dell’s proposal on Monday to return his company to public stock markets after a nearly five-year absence. Having committed what Forbes estimates to be about $7.5bn in Dell stock and personal cash to build his current holding, Michael Dell is now sitting on a stake in Dell Technologies worth about $30bn. It means he’s made more than Icahn’s net worth in paper gains by turning around Dell, deploying deft management chops and even more skillful financial gymnastics.
Here are the eye-opening numbers: When Michael Dell took Dell private in 2013 with the help of Silver Lake Partners, he rolled $4bn of his own Dell shares and a further $750m in cash to get the $25bn deal done. Partner Silver Lake, a technology-focused private equity firm, added equity to the leveraged buyout. Also important: spongy debt markets, which Dell and Silver Lake tapped to the tune of $15bn.
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