More is better – or so it’s said. That’s bad news for Dell stockholders, as the Blackstone Group has dropped its bid for the company. Blackstone had not formally announced an offer to compete with the $13.65 per share Michael Dell hopes will take the company private. Through the due diligence process, Blackstone became unsatisfied with the world’s third-largest PC maker’s rapidly-atrophying marketshare—notably including a 14% decline in PC volume during 2013 Q1. With Blackstone out, the activist investor Carl Icahn is the only likely competitor. Mr. Icahn has preliminarily discussed a $15-per-share offer, but has not yet put it on the table. For more, see NYTimes and Business Insider.
AIG v. BAC is headed to New York state court. American International Group’s $10 billion lawsuit against Bank of America, filed in August 2011, alleges “fraudulent misrepresentations” regarding $28 billion in residential MBSs (mortgage-backed securities) which resulted in heavy losses for the insurer. The merits of the case have been stalled as each side has jockeyed for jurisdictional advantage. The Second Circuit Court of Appeal ruled this morning that the lower court had improperly denied AIG’s motion the case to state court. For more, see Reuters.