Dell may sell itself to VMware, a company it already owns
Dell has been a privately run company for more than 4 years , but it appears ready to return to public life -- in a convoluted way. CNBC sources have claimed that Dell is exploring a "reverse merger" with VMware where the virtual machine maker (80 percent owned by Dell following the EMC deal ) would buy its parent and let the resulting company go public without having to launch a new stock offering. It would also let Dell pay off some of its roughly $50 billion in debt. This isn't set in stone. The tipsters also said that a number of alternatives are on the table, including a straightforward public offering, other takeovers (the targets haven't been named) or buying the remaining 20 percent stake of VMware. Dell is unlikely to sell to an outside company or give up VMware, however. Dell has declined to comment on the report. A reverse merger would be one of the more "audacious" options for Dell, but it would reflect how much things have changed for Del...