• By
  • David Benoit


Heidi Gutman/CNBC



The activist and other shareholders that agitated in the fight did pressure buyout partners Michael Dell and private-equity firm Silver Lake to boost their bid last month to $13.75 a share, up from $13.65 a share. The buyout group also added a special 13-cent dividend and guaranteed a third-quarter dividend of eight cents a share.

Mr. Icahn first revealed a position in Dell in March, the month after the original deal had been struck, and began a campaign to block the deal. He proposed an alternative in which the company would repurchase a majority of shares for $14 a piece along with a partial warrant for shares. That would have left a small part of Dell still trading on the market, allowing shareholders to partake in any risk, and reward, of a potential Dell turnaround.

In the appraisal scenario, Mr. Icahn has 60 days after the shareholder vote to decide whether, rather than sell into the buyout, he will instead ask a judge to rule whether Dell shares are worth more, or possibly less, than the buyout price. Whatever price the judge would rule would be the price Mr. Icahn, and any other shareholders seeking the appraisal, would get.