Ross Perot Sells His Final Company...This Time to Dell

Last year Hewlett-Packard Co. bought Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems Corp. for almost $14 billion, cutting more than 25,000 jobs. Now Dell wants to finish the job by buying Perot’s other company, Perot Systems.

Dell is buying Perot Systems for $3.9 billion, but this time rather than a complete company takeover, the deal is emphasized as a growth move. In fact, officials from both companies have insisted that their deal is about growth.

"For me and our board, this acquisition makes great sense because of the obvious ways our businesses complement each other and enable us to grow profitably over time," Dell chairman and chief executive Michael Dell said in a conference call after the deal was announced.

Perot Systems CEO Peter Altabef said he was making the same case to Perot employees.

If Dell’s acquisition is all about growth, what does this mean for Perot Systems employees? Dell and Perot are still configuring the details of the merger, but as of now, it seems the only Perot Systems job cuts to ensue are administrative positions, in order to prevent position duplication. Perot Systems has about 2,700 employees in the Dallas area and 23,000 worldwide. It is not yet estimated how many of those employees will go on to work for Dell.

Ross Perot Jr., chairman of Perot Systems, will be joining Dell’s board when the deal is completed. He says that Perot Systems will eventually manage Dell’s services division.

So will this “nice” company buyout really merge the two companies together, rather than take over Perot Systems, terminating its mission and eliminating the jobs of thousands? Indeed, Dell and Perot have had a relationship for the past two years, and Dell has been pitching the sale of Perot Systems for almost that long. Now that Dell has finally closed the deal, we will see what becomes of the last Perot company.

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