Dell board recommends Silver Lake offer The board of Dell has recommended that shareholders accept an offer from Michael Dell and Silver Lake to buy the company and take it private. On Friday the company filed proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with a special meeting scheduled for July 18. The purpose of the meeting will be to approve the transaction which, at $13.65 per share in cash, values Dell at 37 per cent higher than its market capitalisation in January before rumours of the deal hit the market. In an open letter issued to shareholders on Friday, the board's directors said they "unanimously recommend that [shareholders] vote to approve the transaction by voting for the Michael Dell/Silver Lake merger agreement." "Having conducted a thorough and probing review of Dell's challenges and opportunities, we believe that the risks and uncertainty of a standalone public company are high and that the transaction we have negotiated offers superior value for Dell stockholders," the letter said. Last month Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management, two of Dell's largest shareholders, challenged the management-led buyout, and threatened a proxy fight if their own offer was not endorsed. Mr Icahn and Southeastern proposed offering shareholders $12 a share in cash or newly issued stock. Although lower than Mr Dell's offer, such a structure would allow shareholders to continue holding stock in the company, giving investors an opportunity if the struggling PC maker could turn itself round. Mr Icahn has not responded to repeated requests from Dell's board for further information on how such a deal would be financed, however. In the mean time Dell's fortunes have continued to fade, with net income falling sharply in the most recent quarter as PC sales fell.