Dell evaluating a public offering of common stock or a potential merger with VMware

A potential deal could help Dell keep up in a competitive storage market, as cloud-based rivals such as AWS and Microsoft Azure put pressure on prices. Computer maker Dell Technologies Inc said on Friday it is evaluating a potential public offering of its common stock or a combination with business software provider VMware Inc. Any potential deal could help the company keep up in a fiercely competitive storage market, as cloud-based rivals such as Amazon.com Inc’s AWS and Microsoft Corp’s Azure put pressure on prices. Dell, which bought data storage provider EMC Corp for $67 billion in 2016, delisted from the Nasdaq five years ago, when private equity firm Silver Lake helped founder Michael Dell’s $24.9 billion deal in 2013 to take the company private. VMware said it was “not in a position to speculate on the outcome of Dell’s evaluation of potential business opportunities.” Sources told Reuters that VMware was likely to form a special committee to consider a combination with Dell.