Eric-- Much can be taken out of context or stated to be taken that way. I hope I'm wrong but believe it will be a very long time before you are in the green again. You can thank WW for that. He did it alone. If WW were truely looking out for anything but his own agenda he would have worked with the bod. Does it not seem strange he was the ONLY director with such an agenda? Do you not believe if any others were even on the edge they would not have followed him (unless they believed he was deranged)?
CF -- ego,, of course. WW-- much worse as CF earned the right to one while WW just has one as he was spoiled too much and inherited too much.
As for the 2 CEOs,,, IMO the 2 together will be damn lucky to pull it off. There are never enough like Gerstner & Welch. It will take one like those or a hell of a lot of luck with the two there now. Still,, it is doubtful anyone else could do better. WWs damage will take years to repair and decades to be forgotten no matter how it comes out. Should the merger not go through at this point there is no bottom for the SP of both co and it will be a very long time until they reach todays level. HWP may never see 20 again if the merger fails IMO. Probably not 15! LT-- they will do better together as the HP Way Bullshit was killed with the business downturn of '73/'74. Ever hear of competition? Xerox did not learn. Lexmark knows. Competition ended the HP Way crap. The communists tried it in Russia and the Japanese economy has been paying for that for over a decade.
Spin the printer div and there is no HWP. In time competition will send them the way of Xerox and cpq should walk. They both need the economy of scale. Still, I have little faith it will be carried off LT but the merger is the only chance hwp has. cpq could fare better at least mid-term,, then anyones guess.
As for WWs position,, if the SP goes to a buck he has nothing but ego invested (its his inheritance, nothing he earned) and he could still live well. He does not give a damn about the co, the SHs, or employees or he would not be tearing the company apart.
You are correct-- it is winner take all. If Carly loses at this stage there is nothing hwp can do to survive a decade except hope cpq buys then years down the road for about 8 bux. The damage WW has caused has done hwp in and its only chance for LT survival as a viable Fortune 500 co is for the cpq culture to completely kill off the HP Way. Should the merger not go through my guess is hwp will not be at the low end of the Fortune 1000 in 7 years. Additionally, as long as it looks like WW has any influence it will be punished. As long as WS thinks WW may begin another law suit WS will not be interested. WW is a bigger liability than all but a few realize. It would be best to beat him in court, show the world he is a nut, and buy every share he controls at a premium with the understanding he never buys another. |
