(Bloomberg) -- Dell Technologies Inc., one of the world's largest closely held technology companies, will likely face an up uphill battle convincing at least one vocal investor that its $21.7 billion plan to go public is fair for shareholders.
Dell's earnings release Thursday marks one of investors' last opportunities to see whether Dell is on track to meet its robust sales expectations before a vote on the company's cash-and-stock offer for its tracking stock, DVMT, in October.
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who owns a 1.2 percent stake in DVMT, continues to believe the tracking stock is worth about $12 billion to $15 billion more than Dell is seeking to pay for it, according to people familiar with the situation. The second quarter results have done nothing to dissuade him of that, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn't public.
The valuation ascribed to Dell's shares has been a key point of contention in Dell's effort to return to the public markets, Bloomberg reported in July, with some investors believing that shares of Dell should be worth less than the company estimated.
Icahn isn't the only activist investor in DVMT. Elliott Management Corp., the New York hedge fund run by billionaire Paul Singer, owns a 4.3 percent stake in the company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Representatives for Icahn, Dell and Elliott declined to comment.
--With assistance from Nico Grant.
To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Deveau in New York at sdeveau2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, Matthew Monks, Jillian Ward
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