Dell is going public after 5 years as private company

Dell is going public again after a five-year stint as a privately held company.

The PC maker announced Monday that it will be converting existing Class V tracking shares in the company into a different type, known as Class C common stock. The company said that with the transaction it would have a market capitalization of $21.7 billion.

The Class C common stock will list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Michael Dell , the company's founder and majority shareholder, who owns 72 percent of the company's common shares, will remain as chairman and CEO. Investment firm Silver Lake, which with Michael Dell took the company private in 2013, will retain its 24 percent minority stake.

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A special committee of Dell independent directors recommended the deal,  but the change of direction still requires stockholder approval by holders of the Class V shares.

"Over the last five months, with the assistance of our independent financial and legal advisors, we have conducted a thorough evaluation of a number of alternatives to maximize stockholder value," the committee said.

Michael Dell said he's looking forward to the company's next chapter.

"Unprecedented data growth is fueling the digital era of IT," he said, "and we are uniquely positioned with our portfolio of technologies and services to enable the digital, IT, security and workforce transformations of our customers."

First published July 2 at 4:32 a.m. PT.
Updated at 4:56 a.m. PT: Added quotes from Dell's committee and from Michael Dell.

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