Dell threatened with ‘years of litigation’ over buyout plan

There are probably days when Michael Dell regrets ever taking his company public. AllThingsD reports that famed activist investor Carl Icahn says that there will be “years of litigation” ahead for Dell (DELL) if it goes through with its current buyout plan without making substantial changes. In particular, Icahn wants Dell to “pay a special dividend of $9 per share” to investors if they decide to vote down Dell’s proposed plan to go private later this year. Icahn says that this “proposed $9.00 special dividend gives Dell shareholders a total value of $22.81 per share, representing a 67% premium to the $13.65 per share price proposed” in the original plan. Of course, increasing the potential cost of the buyout by 67% would greatly complicate things for Dell, which has inked a delicate agreement with Silver Lake Partners, Microsoft (MSFT) and several banks who are financing debt for the transaction.