Carl Icahn continues to have a vocal supporter in the campaign to raise Dell's offer price: mutual fund shop Southeastern Asset Management [profile], reported Dealbook's Michael De La Merced.

Southeastern agreed to sell half of its stake to Icahn last month and sent a letter to Dell in an effort to bump up the share price to $12 in May. Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management have actually been seeking an alternative plan, however, to organize a huge stock buyback that would pay investors $14 a share and keep the company publicly traded, De La Merced wrote.

The special board committee in charge of voting on the buyout met with Institutional Shareholder Services. The meeting implied that ISS would recommend voting against the transaction. There is a possibility that ISS doesn't hold the kind of clout it once did:

Traditionally, I.S.S.’s recommendations have held enormous sway over institutional investors, though in recent years the firm’s influence appears to have waned somewhat. Still, Dell’s special committee believes that a recommendation for the buyout would ensure its passage.

If you want to read the whole story, click here. 

Edited by: Casey Quinlan


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