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Technology Stocks : HWP -- Hewlett Packard -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Fred Levine who wrote (3274)	10/27/1999 9:05:00 AM
From: William Partmann	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4722

To all- very interesting development with Ebay SAN JOSE--EBay, the No. 1 Internet auctioneer, said it's considering buying computers from International Business Machines and Hewlett-Packard, a possible blow to current supplier Sun Microsystems. EBay is talking to IBM and Hewlett-Packard, the No. 1 and 2 computer makers, as well as Sun about buying server computers that will power its Web site, said chief executive Margaret Whitman. EBay will gradually replace its computers in the next 12 to 18 months, she said. Analysts have expected eBay Quote Snapshot EBAY 152.00 +1.12 Enter symbol: · Symbol Lookup More from CNET Investor Quotes delayed 20+ minutes would be looking to replace its computers after several well-publicized failures this year. With an eBay sale, Hewlett-Packard and IBM would gain prestige in the Internet market, which Sun has dominated for the past two years. "It certainly would be a black eye for Sun" if eBay went elsewhere for its computers, said Gary Helmig, a Soundview Technology Group analyst who rates IBM "buy." The eBay site has had a string of failures, some of which the San Jose, California-based company blamed on Sun. One software glitch traced to Sun shut down eBay for almost a full day. EBay is discussing the possibility of buying IBM mainframes and servers for the site, said IBM spokesman Tim Ohsann. IBM computers are the basis of Charles Schwab's Web trading site. Schwab, the largest Internet brokerage, has been plagued by shutdowns, the latest a two-hour failure on Friday caused by a software glitch. EBay also is talking with IBM's services unit, which installs and runs computer networks, IBM said. Winning eBay as a client would be a coup for Hewlett-Packard, which is trying to become a bigger player in Internet computing. "It would make sense for them to talk to us," said Hewlett-Packard spokesman Atchison Frazer, who declined to say if any negotiations were under way. EBay hasn't begun final negotiations to purchase the computers, Whitman said. "What we're working on is what the next generation of the eBay system will be," she said. "We are looking at all options." Sun officials couldn't be reached immediately to comment. EBay rose 1.13 to 152. IBM rose 1.63 to 95.50. Hewlett- Packard gained 0.5 to 76.63. Sun fell 1.69 to 91.25. Copyright 1999, Bloomberg L.P. All Rights Reserved