The company needs to transform, but here's why going private doesn't make sense.

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Rumors of Dell going private really took off back in June when, at the Sanford C. Bernstein investor conference, CEO and founder Michael Dell, well, mentioned that he had considered that strategy.

Then earlier this month, CFO Brian Gladden poured some gas on the flames when he said the debate was still alive in Austin, saying that Dell (DELL) had spent "a whole lot of time thinking about this," but "it's not something we think is going to happen anytime soon." To listen to the message from Dell's C-Suite is to hear that privatizing is discussed and seriously considered. (But a few weeks after the talk, a spokesperson tried to temper the discussion, saying: "There is no ongoing plan, or exploration of taking the company private.") More