Another major Dell shareholder opposes $24.4B sale

It's still unclear how other large Dell shareholders feel about the deal, but the opinions of Southeastern and T. Rowe Price seem likely to embolden others to join the resistance. Southeastern owns an 8.4 percent stake in Dell, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing that revised the size of its stake from 8.5 percent in documents submitted last week. T. Rowe Price owns a 4.4 percent stake in Dell, according to FactSet.

Michael Dell is contributing his holdings to the proposed sale, along with cash that will bring his total financial commitment to about $4.5 billion. The rest of the proposed deal's financing is being provided by Silver Lake and loans from Microsoft Corp. and an array of banks.

In a Tuesday research note, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek predicted the current offer will have to be sweetened to $15 per share, or nearly $27 billion, to placate riled shareholders.

Dell's stock is now trading above the current offer, a sign that more investors are becoming convinced the bid will be raised. Dells shares gained 9 cents to close at $13.79 Tuesday.

The door remains open for another suitor to emerge. Dell said it will accept other bids until late March.