Microsoft may invest $1B-$3B in Dell buyout -- CNBC

Microsoft may contribute $1 billion to $3 billion to help take Dell private, according to a new report.

CNBC's David Faber, citing sources, said the Redmond, Wash., software giant is in talks with Dell CEO Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners, the private equity firm eyeing a Dell buyout. He noted the investment wouldn't necessarily give Microsoft a significant equity stake in the company, but would help raise the funding needed to complete a deal.

Dell declined to comment, as did Microsoft.

Bloomberg initially reported last week that Dell was looking to go private. The Wall Street Journal later followed with its own report that Silver Lake, Michael Dell, and at least one other investor were hoping to complete a $22 billion to $25 billion leveraged buyout.

To meet an asking price of $13 to $14 a share, or $22 billion to $25 billion, Silver Lake and the other investors would need to put up $2 billion in equity, the Journal said at the time. Michael Dell could use his existing stock, worth around $3.6 billion, according to the Journal. More funds could come from cash on Dell's balance sheet and new debt of around $15 billion.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Michael Dell have appeared very chummy of late, even doing a joint interview with the New York Times for the Windows 8 launch in October. It's not a big stretch to believe the two CEOs are in talks about an investment by Microsoft.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is no stranger to investing in other tech companies. In recent years, it has given money to Facebook, Barnes & Noble, and Comcast, and it also invested in Apple when it was struggling. However, investing in a close partner like Dell could be tricky for Microsoft.

Dell is one of the world's biggest PC makers, and it has long been closely tied to Windows. However, the company has struggled of late as it tries to shift its focus away from its traditional computer market to providing business products like networking and storage. Going private would give Dell time to explore other operating systems and markets, but a sizeable Microsoft investment would all but ensure that Dell won't stray from the Windows path.

At the same time, Microsoft risks upsetting other PC makers by investing in Dell. Microsoft already has angered its partners by introducing its own computer hardware, the Surface tablet, and companies have been trying to navigate their new relationship with Microsoft.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57565170-75/microsoft-may-invest-$1b-$3b-in-dell-buyout-cnbc/

but but accordig to some..
MS has no money... They need to sell their Xbox division to make bank!

Hm, I'm not sure what to think about this... Is it good? Is it bad? I don't know.

Why did MS help Apple when it was struggling? That is what I wan't to know.

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

That's all I got.

Some law that says you can't have a absolute (100%) monopoly in any capitalist economy.

at the time MS was close to being a monopoly.  if apple folded MS would have been the only player in the market and at bare minimum faced expensive lawsuits and at worst been broken into pieces by government antitrust laws.

OT - so what does MS gain by feeding dell billions?

So MS would not buy Dell, but invest in it. There is nothing wrong with it. They have 52 billion USD on their bank accounts, so why not use it for something useful?

They would secure Dell as a manufacturer that is only pushing Windows 8 devices and Windows phone devices first. Dell is still the 3rd biggest PC manufacturer in the world, so they have a lot of experience in this area. They could benefit from it for their own future hardware products (Xbox 3, Surface 2, own smartphone) and of course it could be just an ordinary investment they can sell in the future.

So why not give it a try?

I like Dell, but I don't see how this will help Microsoft.

Microsoft thinks that because they got the money they can do what ever they want and that's just stupid.