It looks increasingly likely that Michael Dell will have to either cough up more money to take Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) private, or sell to a higher bidder. Just before a "go shop" deadline expired on Friday, both Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Carl Icahn submitted preliminary offers for the company.

Blackstone has proposed a price range between $13.65 and $15 per share, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal. The low end of the Blackstone-proposed range is equal to the current offer on the table from Mr. Dell and private equity partner Silver Lake Partners.

The offer from Mr. Icahn was not immediately clear.

While Mr. Icahn's move may be tactical in nature, Blackstone may indeed be very serious about buying the PC and IT services company. Last week, it was reported that Blackstone is looking to recruit Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) President and former HP (NYSE: HPQ) CEO, Mark Hurd, to run a privately-held Dell. Mr. Hurd has significant expertise in cutting costs and managing the bottom line. He was pushed out at HP after a sexual harassment scandal with a former female contractor.

In summary, shareholders are determined that Mr. Dell's offer is unfair and significantly undervalues the company. They will not support a $13.65/share offer and either want him to sweeten the pot or get another bidder.

Shares of Dell closed at $14.14 per share on Friday, 3.6% above the current offer, on expectations of a higher bid.

Hedge Funds Mergers and Acquisitions Private Equity

Southeastern Says Pleased with New Dell (Dell) OffersMarch 25, 2013 4:10 PM Icahn (IEP) Comments on $15/Share Dell (DELL) ProposalMarch 25, 2013 8:49 AM UPDATE: SAM Makes Case for Dell (DELL) at $24/Share; Will Use 'All Options' to Stop DealFebruary 8, 2013 3:05 PM Dell (DELL) to Go Private for $13.65/Share in CashFebruary 5, 2013 9:21 AM