My above comment is incomplete when it comes to this point; that implication is not actually the case here.
Normally this is in fact not the case, because the acquirer has some sort of strategic reason behind their purchase that they believe will boost the value of the asset aside from simply operating the company as it had planned on doing prior to the acquisition. For instance, Silverlake/Dell is in the process of buying EMC - Dell/Silverlake believe that strategically, a combined Dell/EMC (or "Dell Technologies") is worth more than both companies on their own - but it's Silverlake/Dell/bond holder's cash that will make this happen. Therefor it's not realistic for current EMC shareholders to simply claim the value of EMC should be higher on its own because the purchase relies on operating synergies between Dell and EMC.
The Dell buyout by Silverlake is completely different, because throughout the sales process, it was clear that Michael Dell and Silverlake were not going to do anything to alter Dell's operational plan - that is, everything that Michael Dell and Silverlake were going to do to the company while private is pretty much exactly what the plan was had Dell remained public. So the judge decided to rule that Silverlake must have valued Dell at approximately what he ruled them to be. The case would be very different if Michael Dell/Silverlake were taking the company private and making major strategic changes to its businesses (shareholders could still sue, but the line of reasoning from the judge would be different).
Normally this is in fact not the case, because the acquirer has some sort of strategic reason behind their purchase that they believe will boost the value of the asset aside from simply operating the company as it had planned on doing prior to the acquisition. For instance, Silverlake/Dell is in the process of buying EMC - Dell/Silverlake believe that strategically, a combined Dell/EMC (or "Dell Technologies") is worth more than both companies on their own - but it's Silverlake/Dell/bond holder's cash that will make this happen. Therefor it's not realistic for current EMC shareholders to simply claim the value of EMC should be higher on its own because the purchase relies on operating synergies between Dell and EMC.
The Dell buyout by Silverlake is completely different, because throughout the sales process, it was clear that Michael Dell and Silverlake were not going to do anything to alter Dell's operational plan - that is, everything that Michael Dell and Silverlake were going to do to the company while private is pretty much exactly what the plan was had Dell remained public. So the judge decided to rule that Silverlake must have valued Dell at approximately what he ruled them to be. The case would be very different if Michael Dell/Silverlake were taking the company private and making major strategic changes to its businesses (shareholders could still sue, but the line of reasoning from the judge would be different).