Brutal. Man, what kind of company is HWP going to be either way??? Just the thought of Carly and WW staying with the company if the merger went through would cause me to vote against it. I am begining to think Compaq will recover long before HWP if the merger does not happen. Whatta mess.
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Hewlett-Packard Top Management Will Stay, Says Walter Hewlett
By Peter J. Brennan
Palo Alto, California, March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett- Packard Co.'s management team will keep their jobs, except for Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, if the $22.2 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. isn't approved, said dissident director Walter Hewlett.
``All of the senior team will stay; they are all valuable,'' Walter Hewlett said during a conference call with investors and analysts. ``If the merger is defeated, I don't think (Fiorina) will have the credibility to lead this company.''
Some investors are worried that defeat of the acquisition, scheduled for a shareholder vote on March 19, will result in senior executives and board directors leaving the world's second- largest computer maker. Hewlett-Packard said in a press release today that Walter Hewlett cannot give assurances that board or management members won't leave if the deal isn't completed.
Walter Hewlett, son of a co-founder of the Palo Alto, California-based company and leader of the proxy battle against the deal, said senior management is just following Fiorina's wish by supporting this acquisition. He said a replacement for Fiorina could be found within three to four months.
``This time around, we don't want someone learning on the job,'' he said.
Hewlett-Packard directors Phil Condit and Sam Ginn yesterday said they haven't decided whether to stay on the company's board if investors vote down the planned purchase of rival Compaq Computer. Walter Hewlett said the board directors ``will act responsibly.''
``The merger will be infinitely more disruptive than a simple change of a CEO,'' Hewlett said.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard fell 42 cents to $20.56 today. Compaq, based in Houston, Texas, fell 15 cents to $11.12. International Business Machines Corp. is the world's biggest computer maker. |
