Icahn Fires One More Salvo At Dell As Shareholder Vote Looms

Dell shareholders are scheduled to vote Thursday on Michael Dell and Silver Lake Management's plan to take the company private. But several news outlets, including Bloomberg, are reporting that Dell's Special Committee is attempting to postpone the shareholder meetingto Friday in the hope of buying more time to convince shareholders to vote its way.

Icahn, in an open letter to Dell investors, insisted the vote stay on track for Thursday. "Can you imagine a political election contest where one side could push off the election to wait for a better day to hold the election -- a date when it is hoped they might do better in the vote than they would have done on the originally scheduled election date?" wrote Icahn in the open letter.

[Related: Who Can Build The Best Dell: Carl Icahn Or Michael Dell? ]

According to an individual close to the Dell Special Committee who is overseeing the buyout efforts, the Bloomberg report was "highly speculative" and the vote would be Thursday as scheduled.

Sandra Murre, CEO of Jordan Engineering, an Ontario-based Dell partner, said she'd given up trying to keep tabs on the Dell saga. Paraphrasing Stephen Covey's book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," she said, "I focus my time and energy on things I can control.

"As an entrepreneur myself, I would like it if Michael Dell kept the company he founded," Murre said. "I do care about the outcome because it could impact us, but we can't do much more than wait right now."

PUBLISHED JULY 17, 2013