San Jose Mercury News(local buzz)
by: skeptically 12/09/01 11:47 am
Msg: 263492 of 263503
www0.mercurycenter.com
Posted at 10:04 p.m. PST Saturday, Dec. 8, 2001
Merger deal grabbing attention in Bay Area
Opinions abound on Hewlett-Packard proposal to buy Compaq
BY TRACY SEIPEL
AND MICHELLE QUINN
Mercury News
From coffee shops to Christmas tree lots, inside restaurants and packed shopping centers, Silicon Valley is abuzz with debate and speculation over the fate of the proposed Hewlett-Packard/Compaq merger.
And, of course, whither Carly?
Now that the Packard Foundation -- the largest single shareholder of HP stock -- has joined the Hewlett family trust and other family foundations in opposing the deal, will HP have a shot at victory?
How does HP Chief Executive Carly Fiorina go about winning the hearts and minds of a majority of HP stockholders, from large institutional investors to individual stockholders? Can she get them to vote for the deal? Everyone, it seems, has an opinion.
In a world where business has become a spectator sport and CEOs are often celebrities, the battle for the soul of HP is a Silicon Valley story that's getting attention everywhere.
``It's being talked about more than in the valley,'' said veteran valley marketing guru Regis McKenna. ``It's global.''
Cultural challenge
The talk ranges from HP's corporate strategy to its corporate culture, McKenna said Saturday.
Fiorina has struggled with the thorny challenge of changing an entrenched culture founded and nurtured by two beloved leaders: Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard.
McKenna said people should not underestimate that large, successful Silicon Valley companies like Intel, National Semiconductor, Oracle and HP were, until recently, influenced and dominated by their entrepreneurial founders. After all, the valley is relatively young.
But HP's recent internal changes are reverberating all through the Bay Area.
``We in the valley are witnessing movement from one generation to the next before our very eyes,'' said McKenna. ``That's the difficulty that companies like HP are trying to move through.''
For now, the company's biggest challenge is whether it can hold onto the deal with Compaq. A shareholder vote has not been set, and both sides have vowed to compete fiercely for votes -- known in business circles as a proxy fight.
Along University Avenue, in the heart of Palo Alto -- HP's hometown -- opinions vary and emotions run deep.
Like many others, 56-year-old Christine Adams isn't quite sure what to think.
``My crystal ball is on the fritz,'' said Adams, sitting in front of World Wraps restaurant reading a book about the death of dinosaurs.
``It's just a question of whether or not she can get their proxies. She seems to have been doing a good job, from what I've heard.''
Adams, a paralegal who lives in Redwood City, believes that if Fiorina can support her argument for the deal with ``good logic and good evidence, then I think if I were in her shoes, I would want to push forward,'' she said. ``But if it got to the point where there were too many negative repercussions, then that would be the time to let it go.''
Valley views
Several people said they saw the reasoning behind consolidating the two giants.
``HP's specialty is very strong in printers, and Compaq's is very strong in PCs,'' said David Holmkvist, 64, of Atherton. ``HP is also strong in PCs. With Compaq, the two would be stronger.'' And, he said, consolidation may be in the future for many tech companies.
``I like Carly,'' said Holmkvist, a vice president and chief operating officer of an environmental-consulting firm in San Francisco who does not know Fiorina personally. ``I think she should go ahead.''.......more at link.................. |
