Michael Dell, computer visionary, has his recently privatized Dell Inc (and his private equity operation, Silver Lake) in talks to buy EMC, the data center and storage giant — according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. EMC stock has struggled, and Dell must see it as a bargain. That outlook has awakened the markets to the sleepy shares, too, sending EMC up nearly 10% on the possibility of being purchased.
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Dell took Dell Inc. private in 2013 so that the company would have more latitude, including doing deals like this, without the scrutiny and red tape that publicly held companies endure. Dell could acquire only part of EMC, targeting its data storage business only, or buy it outright. EMC competes in the cloud-computing space with Amazon, Google and more and has lost advantage in some places because its proprietary hardware solutions require greater commitment and expense than its chief rivals.
