Firm: HP-Compaq Deal Approved
4/17/2002 5:43:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO, Apr 17, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- An independent proxy certifying firm said Wednesday that Hewlett-Packard Co. shareholders appear to have narrowly approved the company's highly-contested $20 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp., though the result still is not final.
After spending more than three weeks going over the proxies, IVS Associates of Newark, Del., said its preliminary count showed that 837.9 million HP shares, or 51.4 percent of those cast, were voted in favor of the Compaq deal, with 792.6 million, or 48.6 percent, against it.
That supports HP chief Carly Fiorina's claim immediately after the March 19 vote that shareholders had approved the deal by a "slim but sufficient margin." Dissident director Walter Hewlett, who led the campaign against the deal, had maintained the vote was too close to call.
"We are gratified the preliminary vote tally validates that HP shareowners voted the majority of their shares in support of the merger," Fiorina said in a statement. "We are eager to put this difficult period behind us and look forward to doing business as the new HP."
IVS's tally - disclosed to HP and Hewlett but not announced publicly - was grueling because shareholders can change their votes as many times as they want, with only the last proxy counting. The result is not yet official because each side now can challenge certain ballots, a process known as "the snake pit."
In addition, Hewlett is asking a Delaware judge to overturn some or all of the vote, partly alleging that HP threatened to take business away from Deutsche Bank unless its investment division switched its position on 17 million shares at the last minute. Hewlett also claims HP misled investors about the progress of its merger integration plans.
HP has denied wrongdoing. A trial on Hewlett's lawsuit is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Wilmington, Del. |
