Two weeks ago the head of the technology and telecoms groups at Evercore Partners told Financial News that “only time would tell” whether $10bn-plus buyouts returned to the sector. This week, the US bank was officially named as an adviser the board of Dell on its $24.4bn deal to go private.

The technology giant confirmed this week that Evercore and JP Morgan were advising a special committee of board directors at Dell on an offer from its founder and chief executive Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake Partners.