As expected, Dell Technologies Inc. acknowledged in an SEC filing today that it may go public or possibly merge with VMware Inc.

But the company noted in its filing that it is merely exploring these options and may not choose to follow either of them. Dell added that its options “do not include the sale to a third party” of either Dell or VMware.

The filing confirms rumors from earlier this month that Dell has been “considering strategic options” to help pay off its more than $50 billion in debt, which the company incurred when it bought out shareholders to go private less than five years ago and also bought EMC Corp. in 2016.

A new initial public offering could allow Dell to buy up the remaining shares it does not already own in VMware, the cloud company that many considered to be the top prize in Dell’s $67 billion acquisition of EMC. However, sources claimed last week that Dell might instead decide to sell itself to the smaller company in a reverse merger that would be the largest deal in the history of the tech industry.

Selling to VMware would allow Dell to return to public trading without having to go through the entire IPO process, and it would also allow Dell’s owners, Michael Dell (pictured) and Silver Lake, to sell their shares and profit off of their investment. Laz Vekiarides, co-founder and chief technology officer for ClearSky Data Inc. and a former executive director of software engineering at Dell, noted last week that reverse mergers like this are usually intended to help a company avoid the scrutiny that comes with an IPO, but such a deal between Dell and VMware would be too big to ignore.

The initial reports that Dell might buy up VMware boosted the company’s shares by roughly 10 percent, but they tanked following the later rumors that VMware might buy Dell instead. VMware’s shares dropped by as much as 20 percent within the first day after the new rumors, and although they have recovered slightly over the last week, they remain well below their previous values.

VMware Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger said in a statement today that Dell has been a “tremendous partner,” but he added that VMware is “not in a position to speculate on the outcome of Dell’s evaluation of potential business opportunities.” Meanwhile, Paul Sagan, lead director of VMware’s board, said that the company “follows sound corporate governance practices, and will continue to do so in connection with any potential transaction involving our controlling stockholders.”

Photo: SiliconANGLE