Michael Dell the founder of Dell Computers, is to take the company private in an offer to its shareholder base of US$13.65 per share, valuing the company at US$24.4 billion. The offer is 25% above the share price as at January 11th and involves a consortium of lenders, led by Michael Dell, Microsoft and US investment house Silver Lake, that will then delist Dell from the US stockmarket, Nasdaq.

The company is still one of the largest manufacturers of PC's and  laptops with a highly credible tablet range also but has recognised the need to be much more than a hardware provider, having created a well thought out Software Services Group from a number of hitec "best of breed" companies, purchased over the last year or two.

The company is in the process of transforming itself from a PC manufacturer into an end to end solution provider in the field of Information technology globally and this move will give the company more breathing space to acheive this without having to placate a shareholder base each quarter.