The founder of Dell computers has bought back the company, making it a private business again after 25 years on the stock market.
Dell is currently the world’s number three PC-maker, behind Lenovo and HP.
Along with technology investor Silver Lake, and with financial backing from Microsoft, Micheal Dell he will offer to buy the firm for $24.4bn (£15.5bn).
The chief executive and chairman already owns about 14% of the firm. He and fellow senior executives will retain their existing stakes.
Dell has struggled to compete with cheap Asian rivals and the boom in smartphones and tablet computers.
The most recent figures from Gartner showed a 5% year-on-year fall in global PC shipments in the last quarter of 2012 – but Dell’s shipments fell by 21%.
So far, Dell’s attempts to move into the tablet world have flopped, and the stock market has been impatient for results.
Completion of the buy-out, which will require shareholder approval, is far from agreed.
Before completing the deal, Dell’s board said it will conduct what it called a “go shop” period of 45 days during which it would actively seek competing offers to buy the firm at a better price.
