Dell founder takes PC maker private in $24bn buyout Michael Dell started the company in 1984. It has been battered by declining demand for PCs as tablets have soared in popularity. Photograph: Kimihiro Hoshino/AFP/Getty Personal computer maker Dell is selling itself for $24.4bn (£15.5bn) to its founder Michael Dell and a group of investors that includes Microsoft. The deal is the largest of its kind since the 2007 credit crunch, which saw the end of easy access to funds for financing private equity-style buyout deals. The complex agreement will end Dell's near 25-year history as a publicly listed company. Shareholders are receiving $13.65 a share for their stock. The deal reflects Dell's desire to engineer a turnaround attempt away from the glare and financial pressures of Wall Street. The company has been battered by declining demand for PCs as tablets have soared in popularity. Last year the number of PCs Dell shipped to retailers shrank by 12%, and its stock market value slipped by a third. The problem is industry-wide: shipments from all manufacturers fell by nearly 13m in 2012 - the first drop since the end of the dotcom crash in 2001. Dell, which generates 70% of its sales and more than half its profits from PCs, plans to transform itself from a PC-maker to an IBM-style information technology business. Dell has been on a buying spree for the last three years, expanding the company's offerings in most technology market segments. It has bought security, storage, software, cloud and data centre-related companies, spending close to $12bn in total. Michael Dell, who started the business in 1984, will remain the company's chief executive and largest shareholder. He already owned a nearly 16% stake in the company, which is based in Round Rock, Texas. Microsoft is taking part in the deal with a $2bn loan.