Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn says Michael Dell and the private equity firm Silver Lake are "manipulating" and "coercing" shareholders of the tracking stock of VMware into taking their buyout offer.
By using "scare tactics," Icahn claims Dell and Silver Lake are "literally stealing" $11 billion from shareholders in a plan to take Dell public again.
Icahn contends Dell and Silver Lake are significantly undervaluing VMware in order to make money. "You've got two guys that are going to make $11 billion," he said. "$11 billion for doing nothing. It's unrivaled even on Wall Street's standards."
Icahn made the comments on CNBC's "Halftime Report" on Monday.
Earlier, Icahn disclosed he raised his stake in Dell's tracking stock to 8.3 percent stake from just over 1 percent. He is trying to block Dell's plan to return to the public market by acquiring the Dell tracking stock of software company VMware. Dell was also considering an initial public offering if its plan to buy the VMware shares fell through.
Icahn said in a letter included in a securities filing that he would gather up votes against the deal. He said VMware was massively undervalued in the deal proposed by Michael Dell and the private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.
"I intend to do everything in my power to STOP this proposed DVMT merger," the letter said. "In my opinion, it is better to have peace than war. I still enjoy a good fight for the right reasons, and in the current situation, I do not see peace arriving quickly!"
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