Dell confirms 2 alternative buyout bids

Dell said Monday that it received two alternative acquisition proposals that may be superior to its founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell's earlier offer.The two new bids were offered by Carl Icahn, a billionaire investor and shareholder of Dell, and by private equity group Blackstone. Icahn proposed to pay 15 U.S. dollars a share for 58 percent of Dell, while Blackstone offered 14.25 dollars a share for an undisclosed amount of shares.In early February, Michael Dell, in conjunction with equity investment firm Silver Lake Partner, agreed to buy all of Dell for 13.65 dollars a share, which would amount to a 24.4-billion-dollar bid, for the company to go private.A special committee of Dell's board said in a statement that both alternative proposals could be expected to result in superior proposals and the committee will "work diligently" with the three potential buyers to ensure the best possible outcome for Dell shareholders.Alex Mandl, chairman of the special committee, said he was pleased to see the two alternative proposals that can potentially create additional value for Dell's shareholders.However, the committee stressed that no assurance could be given to either proposal as any of the bids need to be approved by a majority of Dell shareholders, excluding the founder.Dell's shares rose 3.22 percent to 14.60 dollars a share shortly after the opening bell.The buyout is seen as Dell's most drastic effort to revive the economy, especially after the rise of smartphone sand tablet computers that devoured PC sales.Due to shrinking PC sales, Dell's profits plunged 31 percent to 530 million dollars and its revenues dropped 11 percent to 14.3 billion dollars in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 1.