9:21 a.m. | Updated
Dell Inc. adjourned a vote on its proposed $24.4 billion sale to its founder on Thursday morning, signaling that the planned transaction lacked enough support from shareholders. The meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
But a number of big institutional investors switched their votes to “yes†overnight, said a person briefed on the matter, signaling hope that the leveraged buyout was still viable.
That group â€" including the Vanguard Group, BlackRock and the State Street Corporation â€" had previously indicated opposition to the deal.
The moves indicate the kind of gamesmanship that has surrounded the transaction in recent days. Advisers to the transaction believe that many investors were simply bluffing to try obtain a higher offer from the buyout team of Michael S. Dell and the investment firm Silver Lake.
A large 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.
