Wednesday June 14, 8:53 pm Eastern Time
HP in e-commerce alliance with Softbank-FT
TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE:HWP - news) (HP) is due to announce on Thursday a partnership with Japanese Internet investor Softbank Corp to create what is intended to be the largest Japanese e-commerce site, the Financial Times reported.
The site will offer a full range of Hewlett-Packard PCs, printers and other products as well as those of other companies, it said in a report from San Francisco. HP will also supply the IT infrastructure and professional services for the online retailer, it said.
The venture marks HP's entry into the Japanese consumer PC market, which is showing signs of a strong upturn after several years of little or no growth.
HP President Carly Fiorina is set to hold a news conference in Tokyo at 11.15 a.m. (0215 GMT).
The two companies will jointly fund a company, called E-COMMERCE, the newspaper said, adding that the size and ownership structure would be announced at the news conference.
The partnership with Softbank is part of HP's strategy to boost sales of consumer computer and printer products in Asia and to become a leading supplier of large computer and data storage systems to Internet companies, the FT said.
Softbank will handle the management and development of the company, which is expected to start operations by the fourth quarter, the busiest PC sales season, it said.
The HP PCs will also be sold as ``Internet ready'' through Style Index, a Softbank-owned Internet service provider, it said.
HP is expected to announce other joint ventures with Softbank this year, including plans to distribute PCs through its Japanese retail stores, the FT said.
Shares in HP dipped $5.0 to $114 on Wednesday after slumping nearly 6.0 percent on Tuesday after a Wall Street analyst cut his rating on shares of the computer and printer maker, saying its third-quarter profit could disappoint.
In Tokyo, shares in Softbank fell 3.49 percent to 17,680 yen in early trade. |
