The specter of a privately held Dell is starting to gel into reality, according to several press reports. Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported that talks over the deal — at a price of about $13 or $14 per share – continued into Sunday night. The Journal reiterated earlier reports that the buyout, worth about $22 billion, would be led by Silver Lake Partners, a private equity firm (and former employer of John Swainson, president of Dell’s Software unit) and Microsoft. Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell who owns 16 percent of the company, would keep a stake, the paper reported. The prospect of Microsoft — which is a long-time Dell partner — holding sway over a major hardware player continues to raise eyebrows. Cozying up with one supplier — say Dell, over others such as HP, Lenovo, Acer etc…. could obviously cause problems.
