From their work ethic to their idealism, people in Silicon Valley tend to do things a bit differently. Turns out those differences extend to the way many of Silicon Valley’s newly rich think about generational wealth.

Silicon Valley executives and investors gathered on Tuesday at the Reuters Technology Summit in San Francisco to discuss whether new sources of private financing have dimmed the allure of an initial public offering.

British buyout firm 3i Group Plc , which is carrying out a major restructuring, confirmed on Tuesday that the head of its UK private equity operation has left and that his counterpart in the Nordic region plans to leave soon, Reuters said.

SunGard Data Systems Inc, the computer software maker that was taken private in 2005 for $11.4 billion, is exploring a sale of its data managing operations that could fetch up to $2 billion, sources told Reuters.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn promised Dell Inc shareholders that the company would buy back up to $16 billion of stock if they join his campaign to stop the computer maker from going private, Reuters reported.

Guest columnist Philippe T. Schenk of Grove Street wonders if the uncertainty around taxes in Q4 affected PE investment decisions and led to a misalignment of interests between the taxable GP and the tax-exempt LP.

Dell’s special committee said Tuesday that it does not endorse the latest concept put forth by Carl Icahn. Icahn wants Dell to pursue a self-tender for its shares of about $16 billion, Dell said. The Dell special committee said that Icahn’s concept does not provide “financing, nor any commitment from any party to participate, nor any remedy for the company and its shareholders if the transaction is not consummated.”

COMS Interactive said it raised a minority investment of $21 million from Summit Partners. The investment will be used for expansion, new products and the redemption of common stock holdings. Other COMS investors include Zapis Capital Group; Next Sparc, LLC; and Portal Capital, LLC.

The Valence Group’s Anton Ticktin, who’s been focused on mergers and acquisitions in the chemical sector since the late 1990s, ranks 2013’s deal prospects as bullish, with major private equity players wading in. “We have a very strong pipeline,” Ticktin said in a phone interview. “We think 2013 will remain pretty robust, maybe not at the peak of 2011, but certainly at a high level—maybe the same as 2012.”

Economist Steven Levitt on why data needs stories. Malcolm Gladwell on the gift of doubt. And why, when it comes to New York’s tech scene, Mayor Bloomberg will be a tough act to follow. And more!