Michael Dell is doing a little PR work of his own as details of the leveraged buyout begin to spill across the newsroom floor.
His latest endeavor is an actual open letter to customers assuring everyone that there's nothing to fear about being a little private. He calls the transition an "exciting new chapter for our company". Oh, it's an exciting time for you too, Dell's loyal customers, even though the company will likely focus its energy making money in the enterprise sector as it has for the last five years.
"As always, our unwavering focus is on delivering a fantastic customer experience and creating value for your organization," he said. "We believe that our proposed new ownership will provide long-term support to help Dell innovate, invest for growth and accelerate our transformation strategy. We’ll have the flexibility to continue organic and inorganic investment and drive industry-leading innovation."
The letter goes on to sound even more business-focused. "We’ve made solid progress over the past few years," he added. "Our leadership and our strategic execution have been consistent, as we’ve built a comprehensive portfolio to help you succeed. Secure, easy to manage, end-to-end solutions from the cloud to the data center to devices remain at the core of our value proposition to you."
On Wednesday a regulatory document filed with the SEC revealed some of the details behind the proposed $24.4 billion leveraged buyout of Dell. Silver Lake actually invested up to $1.4 billion USD while Michael Dell dumped $500 million of his own cash – in addition to his 273 million shares worth $3.73 billion – into the deal. Microsoft also stepped in and loaned out $2 million while the Dell family's $12 billion investment fund, MSD Capital, added another $250 million in cash.
Michael Dell is also reportedly trying to secure $13.8 billion in loans, via Bank of America, Barclays, Credit Suisse Group and Royal Bank of Canada, to support the leveraged buyout. Both Silver Lake and Michael Dell can walk away from the deal if its not completed by November 5, 2013.
"I am honored to continue serving as chairman and CEO of Dell and very much appreciate the trust you’ve placed in us," Michael Dell said. "We recognize that ours is a highly competitive industry. Our commitment to you is to keep earning that trust every day. I am confident we are making the right decisions to position Dell, our customers and employees for long-term success."
Michael Dell also has a video about his commitment to customers which can be seen here.
