The founder of Dell Inc. has raised his takeover bid for the computer company by 7 percent, to $13.75 a share, in what he said would be his best and final offer.
The new bid by Michael S. Dell and the investment firm Silver Lake came on the eve of a rescheduled vote on the takeover proposal, one that has been hotly contested by a number of shareholders, including the billionaire Carl C. Icahn.
But the new bid comes with several strings attached. First, a special committee of Dell directors must agree to change the rules for a vote on the deal by agreeing to discard a provision in which shares not cast in the election count as “no†votes. That requirement made winning acceptance of Mr. Dell’s original offer, worth $13.65 a share, extremely difficult given the opposition of Mr. Icahn and others.
Second, the committee must decide quickly whether to accept the new bid by 6 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, or the offer will expire.
“We believe these amendments are fair and in the best interests of the company’s unaffiliated stockholders and provide the best alternative available to the special committee to maximize stockholder value,†Mr. Dell and Egon Durban, a top executive at Silver Lake, wrote in a letter to the special committee on Tuesday.
In a statement, the special committee said it was evaluating the proposal. The rescheduled shareholder vote, which had been set for Wednesday, is being moved for a second time, to Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
