Michael Dell first announced plans to take Dell private in early February. Since then, the proposal has encountered resistance from shareholders, including activist investor Carl Icahn, who claims to be ready and able to make a rival bid.
On Friday, Mr. Dell filed a presentation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which lays out his reasons for wanting to take Dell private as well as his broad vision for saving the company he founded 29 years ago. The centerpiece of that vision is fast-tracking the company's shift from focusing on personal computers to enterprise services.
"PC market fundamentals are under significant pressure, with growing threats from the emergence of cloud computing and mobile/tablet products," he writes on one slide. "Completing Dell's transformation as quickly as possible is essential."
In order to make that transition, Mr. Dell argues that the company will need to make "significant" investment to build up its IT solutions, sales coverage and more, which will likely cut into the company's gross margins, which in turn would probably hurt the company's stock.
"A continuing decline in the public share price would threaten to adversely affect customer perception and make it more difficult to retain employees," Mr. Dell wrote in the presentation. That's why he believes the company's future would be better served if it were private rather than publicly traded.
The company's board of directors has made similar points in the months since the proposal was first announced, but this marks the first time that Mr. Dell has made the case in his own words.
Under the terms of proposal, Mr. Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake would buy back the company for $24.4 billion, or $13.65 a share. Dell's shareholders will vote on the proposal next month.