Dell is currently in talks to go private by private equity companies. Several large banks were contacted about financing an offer to buy out the company. Dell is currently valued at about $23 billion and they reported $13.7 billion in their most recent quarter’s revenues with a net income of $475 million. The company also has around $11 billion in cash.
In the first half of this year, Dell will be releasing an Android-powered Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) stick that can turn a TV or monitor into a computer when plugged in, currently being called “Project Ophelia.” The stick connects to Dell’s Wyse cloud computing platform. Ophelia is slightly larger than a USB thumb drive and it utilizes MHL’s connectivity for the power and data transfer. The stick also uses Android 4.0 for web browsing, media playback, and access to Android apps. After Ophelia gets connected to the computers, it can be used for Wyse thin clients and remote computing. Ophelia even has Bluetooth built-in. [Source: Ars Technica]
Dell has acquired a data protection company called Credant Technologies. Credant’s data protection technologies are designed to encrypt information on smartphones, tablets, servers, and the cloud. Dell did not disclose the financial details in the acquisition.
Dell executive Jeffrey Clarke supposedly told Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that the ARM-based operating system of Windows should not be called Windows RT. However Ballmer said that the Windows brand is too important not to used in new devices.
Dell is getting out of the smartphone business because it requires too much of an investment before becoming successful. Dell will continue building tablets and laptops that run on Windows 8. While speaking at the Dell World event in Austin Texas, Dell VP of Global Operations Jeff Clarke said that the company is withdrawing from building smartphones and from using Android.
Dell Inc. has announced today that they have acquired Gale Technologies. Gale is a Santa Clara, California based infrastructure automation company that helps companies deploy hybrid clouds. The terms of the acquisition are unknown.
Dell has announced a new tablet, ultra book, and all-in-one PC: the Latitude 10 tablet, Latitude 6430u Ultrabook, and OptiPlex 9010 All-In-One.
Dell has struggled in Q2 of this year. The company reported that quarter revenues have fallen to $2.6 billion, which is a 22% decrease compared to the same period last year. Dell’s overall revenue was reported to be $14.5 billion, which is an 8% drop. Dell’s enterprise division was the highlight of the quarter as it grew 6% year-over-year to $4.9 billion and had represented 34% of Dell’s consolidated revenue. ”We continued our progress in shifting the mix of our business to higher-margin enterprise solutions, led by solid growth in our server, networking, services, and Dell IP storage businesses,” stated Dell’s CFO Brian Gladden. [TheVerge]
