Michael Dell has said that even more “significant” consolidation could be on the cards in the tech space, hinting that his firm could continue its shopping spree.
Dell is in the midst of a mega-deal to acquire EMC for $67 billion, which is expected to close some time between May and October.
Speaking at the company’s FY17 Field Readiness Seminar in the US, a transcript of which has been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Michael Dell told staff that the EMC deal might not be a one-off in the industry.
“Customers need a trusted partner in this journey; in navigating this period of incredible change; and we will be the best partner for companies and organisations of all sizes,” he said.
“Customers face a real challenge in funding the digital transformation, and what they have to do is make the existing infrastructure more efficient to be able to fund the digital transformation, and we’re going to help them do exactly that. During this period, I also expect there to be significant consolidation. And we’re very well positioned to be a consolidator.”
Elsewhere at the FRS event, Dell (pictured) urged his staff not to pay attention to media reports suggesting the EMC deal could fall through, branding such articles “click bait”.
“You may have read a story that questions if this deal is going to happen. If you have, you’re wasting your time,” he said.
“The media business is under a lot of stress and their business model is sort of cratering. And what they do to survive in those tough times is they create something called click bait. They create an inflammatory headline – so and so was impregnated by aliens, or whatever, click on here to read about this story, see some ads, try to get some money. So don’t fall for that, OK?
“There’s going to be those kind of stories, just like there were during the privatisation. Do you all remember when we were going private there were all kinds of stories and they basically turned out to be nonsense? So don’t waste your time with that.”
He added that his company is “absolutely” going ahead with the deal according to the original timeline and terms “at full speed ahead”.
