Dell reconsidering conventional IPO

Reports suggest Dell is pursuing a straightforward IPO, contradicting existing plans to buy out tracking stock holders

Dell is again exploring an IPO, in an apparent U-turn on previous plans to become a publicly listed company through a buyout of VMware tracking stock.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Dell's latest financial quarter - which saw it raise annual targets after hitting $23bn (€19.5bn) in revenues - has encouraged the Texas-based vendor to put an IPO back on the table.

Dell is preparing meetings with investment banks this week for "underwriting roles" in an IPO, and has postponed a roadshow planned for this week with tracking stock investors until the following week, according to WSJ sources.

The vendor giant seemingly ruled out a straightforward IPO this summer, after it announced plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange without a public offering through buying out holders of DVMT stock using a mix of Dell stocks and cash.

The $21.7bn deal was met with fierce criticism from hedge funds and activist investor Carl Icahn.

News first emerged at the beginning of the year that Dell was weighing up options to change its ownership structure and become a publicly traded company. The firm included a potential IPO among other options that included a reverse merger with publicly listed VMware.

CEO Michael Dell previously confirmed rumours that he was planning to relist the company, describing its current structure as "too complicated".