No Steve, you can't read Earl Mason like a book.
The $44M charge accounts for the direct merger costs that I referred to in post #5394. I stated "There are some merger-related costs (investment banker fees, lawyer fees, and accounting fees), but that's about it."
The Tandem proxy statement outlining the merger has an estimate of the above types of fees at $37M. There were also costs related to bonus plans included in the $44M. That's it.
The $44M is not a restructure charge, it is not a reserve for the costs of future changes at Compaq or Tandem, nor project people moves, nor anything else you suggested before.
As to the note (b), which does mention restructure charges, it specifically states it's Tandem's 1996 restructure. Yeah, I helped plan that restructuring -- it has nothing to do with the merger.
Regards,
Andrea |
