Dell buys more of Dell

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 3 Jul 2008 at 09:23

Michael Dell has put some much needed confidence into the tech sector by buying a record number of his own company's shares.

The Dell CEO bought $100 million worth of shares in the company that bears his name, sending Dell's share price up just six weeks after the company's stock hit a six-year low.

Dell, who returned as CEO last January after a three-year break, was already the largest shareholder in the company, with his latest acquisition boosting his holding by about 2% to 12.3%.

The move will boost confidence in the turnaround that Dell has been implementing at the company since the middle of last year.

The PC maker, which had carved out something of an unwanted reputation for boring black boxes, has revamped its product lines with a greater focus on aesthetics.

Only last week, the company revealed its new Studio range of laptops, which come in a range of seven colours and boast "Permanent Pictaflex" artwork by artist Mike Ming on the wrist rests.

Dell also won widespread acclaim, and a PC Pro Recommended Award for its XPS One all-in-one desktop earlier this year.

The company's new strategy has also won approval from market watchers. "All vendors are trying to make their PCs more appealing," Ranjit Atwal, principal analyst at Gartner told PC Pro earlier this week. "Dell is obviously on the right track."