The private equity firm Blackstone Group has exited stage left, leaving Dell on stage with egg on its face. The flatlined bidding for Dell is a result of the board relying exclusively on a process known as a go-shop for how it ran its sale. Here is the gist: after a deal is announced, the go-shop allows the target company (in this case Dell) to shop around to see if there are any other bidders. Why on earth would the first bidder allow this you ask? What I deem an ‘outdated sales model’ is the short-answer. Go-shops were first used in private equity buyouts. The private equity firm would demand exclusive negotiations. Boards would agree to this exclusivity, but with the caveat that it gets a period of time when alternative bids could be solicited. The board wanted to make sure its company was being sold for the highest price possible, of course. The rest of the story for Dell ends with it continually stepping on new dance partners’ toes until there’s no one left to dance with.

On today’s Live NewsDesk Show with Kristin Feledy (see live stream below) we’ll be hearing from SiliconANGLE Founding Editor Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins. What is a go-shop? Where did they get their first start? Do they work? What would you have done if you were Dell?

Image credit: Dealbook