Wierd Wally is confident-- LOL,, so he sends a begging letter to SHs?
NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - Walter Hewlett, the
Hewlett-Packard Co <HWP.N> shareholder who is waging a proxy
battle to stop HP from buying Compaq Computer Corp <CPQ.N>,
said on Sunday that he was confident the deal would be
defeated.
In an open letter to HP stockholders, Hewlett said he is
"ever more confident that the proposed Compaq merger will be
defeated," and urged holders to vote against the deal.
Hewlett-Packard shareholders are slated to vote on the
proposed $22 billion merger on March 19.
On Friday, U.S. pension fund giant Calpers said it would
vote against the deal, in part due to the high premium being
paid for Compaq.
Hewlett also cited another fund, the Ontario Teachers
Pension Plan Board, one of the largest pension funds in Canada,
which said it would vote its shares against the deal.
Hewlett, a dissident HP board member and son one of the
company's co-founders, has assembled a block of about 20
percent of the votes in his campaign to defeat the deal, which
he says could destroy one of Silicon Valley's most respected
corporations.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard last week cleared
its final regulatory hurdle by obtaining Federal Trade
Commission approval for the deal.
Shares of Compaq closed up 5.8 percent on Friday at $11.80
on the New York Stock Exchange, off a 52-week high of $21.91
but up from a year low of $7.28. Hewlett-Packard shares ended
the week up 2.9 percent at $20.59, down from a year high of
$34, but up from a year low of $12.50.
((Angela Moore, New York mergers & acquisitions desk, (646)
223-6142))
REUTERS |
