Dell Inc's chief executive said on Thursday he has considered taking the company he founded private, and said the transformation of the computer maker is still incomplete.

In response to a question at the Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, Michael Dell said has he considered taking Dell private, but declined to comment when asked what would make him think about the possibility more seriously.

A Dell spokesman also declined to comment.

Dell conceded that the company lost its way after a period of strong growth earlier in the decade. He said the Dell's transformation is taking a bit longer than expected and is not yet done, but said the company is seeing encouraging signs in the shift of the mix of its businesses.

I think this is a company that can grow its operating income pretty substantially, Dell said.

Shares of Round Rock, Texas-based Dell rose 4.9 percent to $13.76 on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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