Hewlett-Packard's Bid for Compaq
Is Expected to Win EU Approval
By BRANDON MITCHENER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
BRUSSELS -- The European Commission Thursday is expected to approve Hewlett-Packard Co.'s $25 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. without conditions, according to people familiar with the case.
The commission's approval could help bolster the fortunes of H-P and Compaq management, which have been defending the deal against renegade shareholders who warn that it will destroy shareholder value. Although the deal was largely regarded as straightforward, it also was criticized by some rivals, including Fujitsu Siemens Computers, on the grounds that it would stifle competition.
But the European Union's antitrust authority came to the conclusion that the merged H-P-Compaq would still face effective competition in all of the markets in which it competes, including computers, printers, scanners, storage devices and services. "The whole computer market remains competitive, and prices are falling," said one person familiar with the commission's thinking.
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