Dell Technologies is planning to talk with several banks that might ultimately help underwrite an IPO, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ reports that going with a traditional IPO, as opposed to Dell's plan to acquire a controlling stake in VMware, could be seen as a way for Dell to pressure reluctant investors to back the deal it initially pitched.
But, if the company follows through, it'd be one of the biggest U.S. companies to IPO, the WSJ reported. It would also seem to fly in the face of Michael Dell's prior comments about how taking his company private was a smart move that has allowed the company to build for the future instead of trying to please the public markets.
“We don’t have to cater to short-term thinking that exists in the market,” he said not so long ago. “We can think in decades.”
The prospects of having more control of VMware, however, is enticing to Dell and would help position the company near the top of the food chain for enterprise business hardware and software.
Meanwhile, an ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China has raised concerns across the tech industry. And Dell said in July that a trade war poses a significant threat to his company and others. That said, he also opined that Dell Technologies is "as well-positioned as any company can be" if trade disputes continue.
