Dell considering sale of SecureWorks - reports

Talks to sell off $2bn cybersecurity wing are reportedly in early stages

Dell Technologies is in early talks to offload its cybersecurity division SecureWorks, according to a report by Reuters.

Sources told the publication that SecureWorks - which reportedly has a market valuation of $2bn - is working with Morgan Stanley to plan the sale process, which is still in its early stages.

Both Dell and SecureWorks declined to comment on the matter to Reuters.

Dell has a pile of debt to the tune of $50bn due to its mammoth acquisition of storage vendor EMC in 2016, as well as its majority stake in VMware.

The vendor holds an 85 per cent stake in SecureWorks, and selling off the cybersecurity unit would allow it to unburden itself of some of this debt.

Dell acquired SecureWorks in 2011 for $612m and floated the company on the Nasdaq in 2016. The cybersecurity firm's share prices fell nearly five per cent in trading this morning.

Dell returned to the stock market in December last year, through a complex deal that involved buying back shares of DVMT, which is a tracking stock linked to its VMware subsidiary.

SecureWorks' share price has risen by over 40 per cent this year.