With minutes to go before a meeting on Dell Inc.‘s proposed $24.4 billion deal is set to formally begin, the would-be buyers of the computer company appear to still be short of the votes needed to approve the leveraged buyout, a person briefed on the matter said on Thursday.
But they have made some headway, with several big institutional investors switching their votes to approve the transaction overnight.
That group â€" including the Vanguard Group, BlackRock and the State Street Corporation â€" had previously indicated that they opposed the deal.
The moves indicate the kind of gamesmanship that has surrounded the transaction in the final hours before shareholders formally voted. Advisers to the transaction believe that many investors were simply bluffing to try and force a higher bid from the proposed buyers, Michael S. Dell and the investment firm Silver Lake.
A special committee of Dell’s board is likely to adjourn the vote if it appears likely to fail, people briefed on its thinking have said. But if the vote is close, as it appears to be at the moment, the directors may elect to keep polls open for several more hours to allow more time to twist arms.
A sizable group of investors, which included the three big money managers, as well as Invesco and the Bank of New York Mellon, switched their vote to “yes†sometime around midnight, the person briefed on the matter said.
One investor whose vote is still being awaited is Franklin Resources, this person added.
