I don't think it was an unsolicited offer. The relationship between Silver Lake, Michael Dell and Hock Tan should be investigated. All: say "Thank you Michael."
On the other hand...
Broadcom is a hardcore shareholder value focused company and I do believe that VMware can be more efficient. There is still a lot of potential to optimize and to innovate.
I'm very curious to see how it plays out.
An obvious incestual relationship among Silver Lake, Broadcom and Dell. Silver Lake is the matchmaker between the cousin companies groomed by them. So much history between Silver Lake and Dell and Broadcom that I would expect we could find other arranged marriages as well if we looked… hmmm
Giant tax implications for Silver Lake and Dell if they solicited Broadcom soon after spin-off. Tax liability for them is the main reason why they structured the timing as they were announced.
I think Broadcom wants Dell business for their hardware, and offered him a quid pro quo deal to ensure they get that business. Win-win for Michael Dell and Hock Tan
Makes sense. MD paying down his debt. Business decision. It’s time to look for another job - that’s me taking care of my business. Companies don’t care about their customers or employees.
It’s wall street and $$$.
Why does it matter if it was an unsolicited offer? Might be a d-mb question but so what if MD reached out to HT or the other way round?