Archive for October, 2009

Dell Teases Ultra-thin Adamo Notebook, Again

Dell executives showed the Adamo XPS notebook again today. The MacBook Air competitor is touted at being .39 inches thick, about 1/2 the thickness of the Air.

NC Asking Dell to Pay Back Incentives

North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue went on record this week with the expectation that Dell repays the $280+ million of incentives offered to the company for opening a desktop manufacturing plant in the state.

Quoting Purdue, “We made it very clear to them (Dell officials), and they already understood it quite frankly, that every red cent of incentives money had to come back to the people of North Carolina,”

However, Forbes.com reported on 10.09.2009 that it is unlikely that the state will recoup much of the funding that was spent on road upgrades and worker training.

Dell Expands Services Footprint In China

Perot Systems, the Dallas-based I/T services company that is slated for acquisition by Dell, announced that it will acquire China-based BearingPoint. The deal, which will ultimately give Dell a bigger services footprint in China, is of unknown value – financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001, BearingPoint is currently in Bankruptcy and serves clients in China’s energy, automotive, insurance and financial services industries.

AT&T to Offer Dell Smartphone, Newspaper Reports

The Wall Street Journal reported today that AT&T will offer Dell’s smartphone based on the Google Android operating system as soon as 2010. The prototype was shown at an event in China earlier this year.

4 years and $285M later, Dell shuts NC factory

As predicted on the DellObserver just one month ago, Dell has announced that it will close its Winston-

AP Photo

Salem desktop computer factory and eliminating 905 jobs

Back in 2005, the state of North Carolina gained national attention by offering Dell incentives totaling $285 million dollars to bring the facility to the state. A report in 2007 by The North Carolina Budget and Tax Center analyzed the incentive deal and found “(lawmakers) were likely far too optimistic about the computer maker’s long-term impact on the local economy”.

Reuters reports that the closure will be done quickly with the facility completely shut by January, 2010.

Alert: Michael Dell is Still Really Rich

Even with Dell’s stock at $15, down from its 2008 high of $25/share and way off its high of $55 back in 2000, Michael Dell is really really, really, rich.

Austin’s Business Journal reports that Michael Dell is still worth $14.5B, down from $17.3B in 2008.

Now, for those of you not in the know, Michael has put significant effort into diversifying the family assets beyond Dell, Inc and is reported that approximately 2/3rds of his holdings are outside of Dell. He created MSD Capital in 1998 to make investments on his behalf and now has 10 professionals on staff. The group has invested in a wide range of activities including real estate, car dealerships, a dental practice management company, and into the restaurant industry (Stake’n'Shake and iHOP).