Dell tormentor Icahn opens legal proceedings over plans to go public

Carl Icahn claims Dell has 'refused to provide much basic information' relating to the deal

Activist investor Carl Icahn is suing Dell Technologies over its plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Icahn, who owns a 9.3 per cent stake in Dell Technologies' DVMT tracking stock, claims that the vendor has "refused to provide much basic information" in relation to the move, which would see it become a public company again.

Dell plans to publicly list by buying back its DVMT tracking stock, which is based on the performance of subsidiary VMware.

However, Icahn has pushed shareholders to reject the deal, claiming that Dell is not providing all the information required.

Legal proceedings, started yesterday, insist that Dell makes this information available to Icahn.

In a statement on his website, Icahn said: "Dell completely refused to provide any information relating to the period from 3 July 2018 through to the present.

"This period is critical to DVMT stockholders because the company and its advisers have been soliciting votes, and DVMT stockholders have a right to know whether, and to what extent, the board is aware of, and even planned, some of the apparently coercive tactics being employed by the company and its advisers."

Earlier this year Dell Technologies appointed a set of independent advisers to oversee the deal, but Icahn suggested that these directors may have been manipulated by shareholders who would benefit from Dell going public.

Icahn singled out Michael Dell, and investor Silver Lake, claiming that the DVMT tracking stock has been used to benefit the founder personally.

The investor also claimed that Dell is "brazenly suggesting that if the proposed DVMT merger fails, then the company will complete an IPO" - a move which he said would deliver an uncertain outcome for investors, therefore forcing them into agreeing to the merger.

Reuters and Bloomberg reported that Dell Technologies is declining to comment.

This is not the first time Icahn has clashed with Michael Dell, having tried and failed in an attempt to stop the Dell founder and Silver Lake taking the firm private in 2013.