CPQ & HWP

Guten Morgen,
jetzt tut sich was im Tech-Bereich:

Hewlett-Packard Agrees to Buy Compaq for $25 Bln (Update2)
By Cesca Antonelli

Palo Alto, California, Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. agreed to buy Compaq Computer Corp. for $25 billion in stock, as the second-biggest computer maker tries to take on larger rival International Business Machines Corp. in services and consulting.

Compaq shareholders will get 0.6325 of a Hewlett-Packard share for each share they own, Compaq spokesman Arch Currid said. Hewlett- Packard shareholders will own 64 percent of the combined company, to be run by Carly Fiorina, the Palo Alto, California-based company's chairwoman and chief executive.

Sales of personal computers, printers and related equipment have tumbled this year, dragging down Hewlett-Packard's net income 89 percent in the most recent quarter. Fiorina is betting that combining with Compaq will speed growth in computer services, a higher-profit business that she's stressed as the key to rejuvenating sales. Analysts criticized the move, saying it may not generate the growth and savings Fiorina wants.

``It really doesn't make any sense,'' said Ashok Kumar, a US Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst. ``It will be a big distraction for H- P. In hindsight, this will probably not go down as a good acquisition.''

The agreement values Compaq at $14.68 a share, or 19 percent more than Friday's closing price. Michael Capellas, chairman and CEO of Houston-based Compaq, will become president of the combined company. Capellas and four other Compaq directors will join Hewlett- Packard's board, the companies said.

The transaction will result in savings of $2 billion in fiscal 2003, the companies said. They expect the acquisition, already approved by both boards, to be completed in the first half of next year. Currid declined to elaborate ahead of a news conference later today. Hewlett-Packard officials couldn't be reached to comment.

``At a particularly challenging time for the industry, this combination vaults us into a leadership role with customers and partners,'' Fiorina said in a statement.

Compaq shares rose as much as 16 percent in Germany.

Overlapping Lines

The two companies sell PCs, servers that run Internet sites and corporate networks and related services and consulting. Both have focused on increasing services revenue this year, trying to make up for falling PC prices and mount a challenge to IBM, whose services business has helped it weather the slowdown in corporate spending caused by sagging economic growth.

IBM, the biggest seller of computers and related services, had sales of $21.6 billion in its most recent quarter, while Compaq sales reached $8.45 billion and Hewlett-Packard's were $10.1 billion.

The similar strategies at Hewlett-Packard and Compaq left them with a lot of overlapping product lines, analysts said. Compaq's PCs and high-end servers are too much like Hewlett-Packard's lineup, Kumar said.

Demand hasn't rebounded after a dismal holiday sales season last year, as consumers and corporations worry about the economy and put off purchases. PC shipments in the calendar second quarter dropped from a year ago for the first time since 1986, according to researcher Dataquest Inc.

Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and rivals like Gateway Inc. and Dell Computer Corp. all have fired thousands of workers this year. IBM is the only large PC company that hasn't cut jobs to trim costs.

Falling Profit, Sales

Compaq, which plans to fire 8,500 workers this year to cope with the sales slowdown, lost its spot as the biggest PC seller to Dell in the past two quarters. After trying to match Dell's PC price cuts earlier this year, Compaq backed off that strategy and has since tried to focus on more profitable sales. The company's profit fell 81 percent in the second quarter and sales dropped 17 percent.

Hewlett-Pac

Hi Giraldillo,

ist wohl nicht verkehrt, erst einmal draussen zu stehen und abzuwarten, was sich bei HWP tut.
Die Analysten sehen die Sache wohl auch nicht positiv, denn nur ein Einsparpotential ohne konkrete unternehmerische Zukunftsstrategie rechtfertigt keinen Merger.
Oder war Frau Fiorina nur mal "Frau" und hat ihrer Shopping-Leidenschaft gefrönt???

Gruss Shorty

Hi,
Nachtrag zum obigen Thema:

Hewlett-Packard Falls as Investors Question Compaq Purchase
By Cesca Antonelli

Palo Alto, California, Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. shares fell as much as 12 percent, their biggest drop this year, on concern that the company's proposed $25 billion purchase of rival Compaq Computer Corp. won't accelerate profit growth.

``If (Carly Fiorina) can pull it off, it's going to be a miracle,'' said Sunil Reddy, a fund manager with Fifth Third Bancorp, which owns 1 million Hewlett-Packard shares.

Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Fiorina, who will head the combined company, plans to eliminate 15,000 more jobs. She's hoping that adding Compaq will help the second-biggest computer maker jump- start sales with a bigger services and consulting unit, moving the company further into a profitable area that's got more room for growth than personal-computer sales.

The two companies, hard hit by slowing sales and dwindling profit this year, face tough competition from International Business Machines Corp. Even after the acquisition, an all-stock transaction, IBM would still have the most resources and long- standing customer relationships, analysts said.

``They want to be more like IBM, but it's going to be tough,'' Reddy said.

Compaq stockholders will get 0.6325 of a Hewlett-Packard share for each share held, valuing the company at $14.68 a share, or 19 percent above Friday's close, said Arch Currid, a Compaq spokesman. Hewlett-Packard stockholders will own 64 percent of the company.

Hewlett-Packard shares fell $2.91 to $20.30 in midday trading. The stock has lost 66 percent of its value in the past year. Compaq fell 30 cents to $12.05 and has dropped 64 percent in the same period. Hewlett-Packard rival Lexmark International Inc. slid $4.87, or 9.3 percent, to $47.30.

PC Sales Slump

Second-quarter PC shipments fell for first time since 1986, according to Dataquest Inc. Hewlett-Packard's net income tumbled 89 percent in the July quarter. Compaq's profit fell 81 percent in the second quarter.

The economy doesn't seem to be picking up, Fiorina doesn't expect demand to improve much in the next few months, and investors say they're concerned that the combined company won't be able to cut costs fast enough to make this deal worth the hassles.

Michael Capellas, chairman and CEO of Houston-based Compaq, disclosed the job cuts on a conference call. He will be president of the new company. Capellas and four other Compaq directors will join the board of Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard, the companies said. Hewlett-Packard Chief Financial Officer Robert Wayman will be CFO of the combined company.

The transaction will save $2 billion in fiscal 2003, the companies said. They expect the acquisition, already approved by both boards, to be completed in the first half of next year.

``Today is about changing the game, not only for our two companies but for the industry as well,'' Fiorina said on the call.

The combined company's sales will decline 5 percent in 2002 and 2003, Fiorina said. She declined to say what the dollar amount will be.

Antitrust Issues

The purchase is expected to face scrutiny by U.S. and European antitrust regulators.

The U.S. government ``is not going to be able to ignore this; the government is going to take it seriously,'' said Ernest Gellhorn, who teaches antitrust law at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The European Commission, the regulatory arm of the 15-member European Union, has the power to block or force changes to mergers between companies with combined global sales of 5 billion euros ($4.5 billion) and EU sales of 250 million euros each, even if the companies are from outside the EU.

``If they meet the thresholds, they will have to notify,'' said Amelia Torres, a spokeswoman for EU Competition Commissioner Ma