Dell is nearing a deal to sell its IT services business unit to the Japanese telecom giant NTT for about $3.5 billion.

#NTT executives are expected to formalize their offer in a meeting with #Dell CEO @MichaelDell in New York on Wednesday. If successful, the deal would close a process that began in December when privately held Dell set out to sell its services unit — made up primarily of the company formerly known as #PerotSystems, which Dell acquired in 2009 for $3.9 billion.

Dell is in the process of acquiring #EMC, the data storage equipment company, in a deal that when first announced in October was worth about $67 billion. Dell has proposed to pay for the deal by taking on more than $50 billion in debt.

The sale of the services unit is considered part of an effort to raise cash that will ultimately help pay that debt down. Other assets, including some software operations like #Quest and #SonicWall, are said to be still in play. Dell hopes to raise as much as $10 billion from asset sales.

http://recode.net/2016/03/08/japans-ntt-is-close-to-buying-dell-services-for-about-3-5-billion/

France’s Atos Nears $4 Billion Deal to Buy Dell’s Perot Systems Unit

Computing giant #Dell is nearing the end of the process to sell its #PerotSystems IT outsourcing services unit in a deal that is expected to exceed $4 billion, sources briefed on the process told Re/code.

Atos, a French IT outsourcing firm with offices in Purchase, N.Y., and Arlington, Texas, is the leading bidder and has offered between $4.2 billion and $4.3 billion for Perot, sources said.

Tata Consultancy Services, the technology consulting and services arm of India’s Tata Group, the 147-year-old industrial conglomerate, re-engaged Dell in talks late last week and may have made an offer, but walked away from the table today, sources said. #TCS ended an earlier round of talks with Dell to buy Perot in mid-December. Dell had hoped to sell the unit for closer to $5 billion.

http://recode.net/2016/01/04/frances-atos-nears-4-billion-deal-to-buy-dells-perot-systems-unit/

Here's How Dell Wants to Pay Down Its EMC Debt

EMC CEO Joseph Tucci and Dell CEO Michael Dell.Photographs by Getty Images

Slimming down to get bigger.

The #Dell - #EMC saga continued this week with a report that Dell is shopping #PerotSystems for $5 billion. Dell bought Perot, which helps big businesses select and deploy the right information technology, six years ago for $3.9 billion. Dell now wants $5 billion for the Perot business according to Re/Code.

There had already been several reports that Dell is looking to offload several of its businesses to lighten its debt load—estimated to be a whopping $45 billion—that the computer-maker’s proposed $67 billion acquisition of EMC  EMC -0.62%  would incur. For example, private equity firms have reportedly explored acquiring Dell’s #Sonicwall and #Quest businesses.

http://fortune.com/2015/12/14/dell-selling-perot-emc/