What's going on?

It�s public, it�s private, it�s public again: Dell’s going public for the second time, by buying out stockholders in its subsidiary � at an almost 30% premium to last week�s price (tweet this).

What does this mean?

Dell�s a pretty complicated creature. In 2013, its founder and a private equity firm took it private. Then, in 2016, it bought a company that owned 82% of a software business, VMware, and created shares for investors to own some of that part of the business. Basically, they could own part of one of Dell�s subsidiaries, but not Dell itself.

Now, Dell�s offering investors in its VMware stock the opportunity to sell in exchange for cash � or newly-created shares in Dell itself, which they�ll be able to buy and sell on the New York Stock Exchange. Shareholders who accept the offer will end up owning some of Dell (which will still own 82% of VMware), and� �ta-da! Dell will be public again.

Why should I care?

For markets: Dell and VMware go together like a keyboard and mouse.

Dell�s the yin to VMware�s yang � they deal in hardware and software, respectively. Dell�s tied its computers up with VMware�s software, often selling them as a package. Investors seem to approve of Dell�s latest escapade � both Dell�s VMware stock and the other VMware stock (the remaining 18% that Dell doesn�t own) rose on Monday�s news.

The bigger picture: Going private FTW.

In its five years as a private company, Dell�s made some positive changes to its business and strengthened its financial position. It grew its revenue by 19% in the last quarter � no small feat considering that rivals Lenovo, Acer, and even Apple didn�t grow theirs at all � and is increasing its market share (this very newsletter was composed using a Dell monitor). Going private is one way that companies try to get more freedom and flexibility, away from the prying eyes of investors.