NEW YORK CITY - Voting on a proposal to take computer-maker Dell (IW 500/24) private was delayed for a third time Friday after founder Michael Dell agreed to boost the price of the transaction.
A vote on the new proposal will be held Sept. 12, after the company's founder reached a deal with a special committee to raise the price and change the vote-counting system.
The amended deal raises the purchase price from $13.65 per share to $13.75, provides for a special dividend of 13 cents per share and guarantees that the third-quarter dividend of 8 cents per share will be paid at or before closing.
The voting system will also be changed, from one in which non-voting shares were counted as "no" votes to one in which only those ballots which are submitted will be counted.
The previous system had put the Michael Dell-led consortium at a disadvantage.
Friday's deal marks the latest twist in an increasingly acrimonious battle for control of Dell, an iconic personal computer firm that is struggling to navigate the shift towards mobile technology.
Carl Icahn, who has led the opposition to Michael Dell, filed suit Thursday to block Dell from changing the terms for shareholder voting and accused the Dell board of breaching its fiduciary duty.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
