I expect it is a positive for Dell to go private again, but I don't know if its in Microsoft's interest to be part of the game. Even according to your predicti

I expect it is a positive for Dell to go private again, but I don't know if its in Microsoft's interest to be part of the game. Even according to your prediction, at worst they get their money back and then some. My guess is that MS wants the next Dell to still be a MS ally. Microsoft isn't going away anytime soon and Dell needs to keep that in mind if they want to be worth more than what it is today.