Dell founder considered taking company private

Dell chairman and chief executive Michael Dell said Thursday that he has considered taking the US computer giant he founded more than 25 years ago private.

Speaking to financial analysts at the Sanford Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference here, Dell replied "yes" when asked if he had ever considered taking the Texas-based company private.

Asked what could lead him to make such a move, Dell, who founded the computer maker in 1984, responded with a "no comment."

Dell is the world's third-largest personal computer maker after Hewlett-Packard and Taiwan's Acer.

Dell also said he saw the arrival of tablet computers such as Apple's iPad as an opportunity rather than a threat to existing products.

"There's always some cannibalization, but it feels more like market expansion to us," he said.

Dell announced last month it would selling a tablet computer in Britain in June called the "Streak" which is powered by Google's Android operating system and is smaller than the iPad.

Dell shares gained 4.90 percent on Wall Street on Thursday to close at 13.76 dollars.

(c) 2010 AFP