Dell's largest outside shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, says it supports the buyout offers of Blackstone and Carl Icahn. Trouble is, neither actually has much of an offer to support.

That was underlined on Tuesday, when The Wall Street Journal reported that Blackstone, for instance, is still seeking partners for its hoped-for bid of more than $14.25 a share. In other words, it hasn't yet secured financing, nor does it have a prospective chief executive to replace Michael Dell.