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Shares of Dell rose more than 12 percent early Monday afternoon after Bloomberg News reported that the personal computer maker was in talks with at least two private equity firms about going private.

A buyout of Dell would be worth more than $17 billion, based on its total enterprise value. The company has some $9 billion in debt, but $11 billion in cash at hand. A deal would make it the largest technology buyout since the $17.6 billion acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor by a group of buyers led by the Blackstone Group in 2006.

The Bloomberg report, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, said the talks were preliminary. It cautioned that the firms might not be able to line up financing.

The report of the talks comes a week after a top Dell executive, David Johnson, who was in charge of the company's corporate strategy, including deals, left to join Blackstone .

Any buyout would involve Michael Dell, who started the company out of his University of Texas dormitory room in 1984. The chief executive owns nearly 16 percent of the company.

At a Sanford C. Bernstein conference in June 2010, Mr. Dell was asked whether he had considered taking the private. "Yes," was all he would say on the matter.

Before Monday, the stock price was down some 30 percent over the last 12 months.