Dell last week released a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that highlighted commercial considerations that led to the firm looking to go private, citing the financial outlook for the PC market as a primary reason.
In the filing, Dell said that financial services firm JP Morgan had identified "the deteriorating outlook for the PC market as a result of, among other things, smartphones and tablets cannibalizing PC sales".
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Dell also blamed what it deemed an "uncertain adoption of the Windows 8 operating system" as well as unexpected slowdowns in enterprise Windows 7 upgrades, and faster than expected declines in PC shipments in emerging markets, that could have derailed the ailing PC maker further.
The filing said that Dell faced a "difficult environment" as a result of its "underperformance relative to a number of its competitors".
In research firm IDC's latest PC sales report, Dell was placed third behind HP and Lenovo, while in EMEA, Dell was fifth.
The SEC filing said: "On August 21, 2012, primarily as a result of continued weakness in the EUC (end user computing) business, the company reported revenue for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 of $14.5bn. The company's revenues for this quarter, which ended on August 3, 2012, were approximately $300m less than the amount projected by management for the quarter, which projections management had reviewed with the board in early July and approximately $800m less than the amount projected by management for the same period in early June."
On February 5, Dell announced that it would be acquired by its founder Michael Dell, and his private equity investment partners Silver Lake, for $24.4bn (£15.5bn).
But Dell's largest independent shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, claimed that the deal "grossly undervalued" the company. The SEC filing showed that Southeastern suggested the possibility of going private as early as June 15 2012, and that CEO Michael Dell responded that he would think about the idea.
Last month, "activist investor" Carl Icahn demanded a $15.6bn (£10.4bn) special dividend as a result of Dell going private.
And last week, Dell confirmed that it had received two counter-offers for its plans to go private, with bids rivalling Michael Dell's proposals coming from private equity firm Blackstone Group, and Icahn Enterprises - headed by Carl Icahn. A special committee that is overseeing the transaction is reviewing the competing bids, which it received during a "go-shop" period.
However, Michael Dell will only consider backing a buyout by private equity firm Blackstone Group if he can remain as CEO of the firm, a person familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.
Another source said that if another bid supersedes Michael Dell's and bars him from future involvement in the company, Dell would cash in his shares and walk away. This would leave the buyer needing to replace about $4.5bn (£2.96bn) in financing that Dell could have contributed.
The current Silver Lake and Michael Dell transaction would deliver $13.65 per share in cash for all of Dell, while Blackstone's offer would allow shareholders to receive cash or stock being valued in excess of $14.25 per share. Icahn's group would offer $15 per share for 58 per cent of Dell.
