A special committee of Dell board members is apparently looking at takeover proposals to rival original owner Michael Dell's private offer of $24.4bn (£16bn).
According to source quoted by Reuters, higher bids from Investment group Blackstone Group and billionaire investment mogul Carl Icahn are now being considered by the Dell board.
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At present, says the source, Michael Dell's bid - backed by the Silver Lake group - stands at $13.65 per share for the whole business. Blackstone's bid stands at paying "more than" $14.25 per share, while Icahn has offered $15 per share, but for only 58 per cent of Dell, which is currently the world's third most successful PC manufacturer.
Not only do the three deals differ in terms of the amounts offered, but the Dell board will also need to decide which could lead to a higher quality bid. The source has revealed that the board may very well make its decision sometime today.
Silver Lake Group is not expected to amend its part in the Michael Dell offer - which compromises $1.4bn - until the Dell board members make a firm ruling on the rival offers.
Icahn and Blackstone have also now revealed they have had preliminary talks on merging their offers for a stronger bid:
"We plan to review the Blackstone proposal in greater detail," Icahn Enterprises said today, adding that the Michael Dell and Silver Lake offer "significantly undervalues Dell".
Dell's share prices currently stand at $14.14 on the Nasdaq stock exchange, representing a steady rise from the $10 it was posting six months ago.
