Shortly after Dell (DELL +0.00%) announced yesterday that Institutional Shareholder Services had come out in favor of company founder Michael Dell's go-private offer, two more proxy advisory services, Glass Lewis and Egan-Jones, also gave their imprimatur to the $24.4 billion deal.
The tech firm released a statement Monday saying, "We are pleased that all three of the nation's leading proxy advisory firms have issued clear and unequivocal recommendations in favor of the transaction now before shareholders for their approval. Each has conducted an independent review and concluded, as has the Special Committee, that a sale of Dell for $13.65 per share in cash will provide certainty of value at a substantial premium, and is therefore in the best interests of shareholders." Investors are scheduled to vote on the proposal July 18.
Activist billionaire investor Carl Icahn has proposed recapitalizing the company as opposed to allowing it to go private, and believes the per-share price Michael Dell has offered is too low. Part of Icahn's plan is to repurchase as many as 1.1 billion shares of stock at around $14 a share. He has indicated that he will vote against the proposal, as has another large stakeholder, Southern Asset Management. Together they control about 13% of Dell's stock; Michael Dell owns about 16%.
