The Dell Stock Repurchases Program - Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Ralph and I have an on-going debate on the merits (Ralph) and demerits (me) of share repurchases. My point is not all repurchases are the same. Some may be value enhancing. Others, however, are not. They can be used by executives to manipulate earnings per share (EPS) to improve their option values.

Floyd Norris' January 18,2013 New York Times article on the misuse of repurchases at Dell provides a cautionary tale for shareholders. He analyzed Dell's long running approximately $ 40 B program. He concludes over priced repurchases benefited corporate executives at the expense of long term shareholders. Michael Dell, Dell’s founder and largest shareholder, was a substantial option recipient. His gain is estimated at over $650 MM. Executives would profit if Dell stock price increased following a decline in the number of outstanding shares post repurchase compared to a dividend. This encouraged repurchases to offset potential stock price weakening by increasing EPS as operations began to mature. This occurred despite the negative impact on long-term non-tendering shareholders. This occurred because the repurchases, being over priced, transferred value from remaining shareholders to those tendering. Michael Dell's losses were offset by his option gains, which were unavailable to non-executive shareholders, plus the gain on any shares he tendered. Dell paid an average repurchase price over the years of $ 19 per share compared to the current price of $ 12. A general observation is firms facing a challenging operating environment who have stock option programs may be prone to questionable repurchases.

The current low share price due to concerns over the firm's business model has increased the interest in taking Dell private. Michael Dell is rumored to contribute his shares into the potential LBO. This raises conflict issues as to who he represents-the firm's shareholders or himself in the buyout negotiations. Given his record on the repurchase program we can only guess hmmmmmmmm.

I promise this will be the last post on repurchases for a while. There will be more posts on Dell as the story develops.

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