Dell Shareholders Convene A Third Time As Buyout Battle Escalates

Round Rock, Texas/San Francisco: Dell Inc shareholders convene for a third time on Friday to vote on CEO Michael Dell's $24.4 billion buyout, helping decide the fate of the No. 3 PC maker after months of dueling with Carl Icahn and other unhappy investors. The meeting in Round Rock, Texas, comes after two previous adjournments, when the company wasn't certain of gaining enough votes for what would be the largest buyout since the financial crisis.

Unless it's postponed again, Friday's vote may prove crucial in determining the future of the struggling company. Its founder and private equity firm Silver Lake want to buy and take the company private, arguing that a painful restructuring can best be performed away from Wall Street's scrutiny. But the battle over that deal, announced in February, has raged for months, casting a pall of uncertainty over a company already shrinking along with a rapidly declining PC market. The CEO, his advisers and proxy solicitors have gone back and forth with shareholders whose votes are needed to secure the deal. They've had some success, managing to get prominent investors such as BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard onboard.