Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Night Writer who wrote (94199)	12/12/2001 6:09:31 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Respond to of 97611

Compaq board member sees no change in merger terms By Caroline Humer NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A member of the board of directors of Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) on Wednesday said that he doesn't expect changes in the terms of Compaq's $23.4 billion merger with competitor Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP - news). Thomas Perkins, the Perkins in Silicon Valley's powerful venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, said in an interview with Reuters that the Packard foundation's decision to vote against the merger isn't about price. ``There's no thought about changing the terms of the deal,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``And I can't conceive that if the terms of the deal had been changed, that it would have affected the Packard Foundation vote.'' The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, which owns more than 10 percent of Hewlett-Packard, said on Friday that it ``preliminarily'' planned to vote against the merger, creating an 18 percent block of shares owned by members of the Hewlett and Packard families that are against the merger. That ``preliminarily'' had some on Wall Street wondering if the Packard foundation was pushing for a change in the merger terms, such as the spin-off of its personal computer business or less money for Compaq. Perkins, who will meet with other Compaq directors on Thursday for a regularly scheduled board meetings, says that isn't the case. The merger plan hit a nerve at HP, where there was already a push-and-pull about how much to reinvent the company to soup up sales growth -- perhaps sacrificing some of the company's traditional values known as ``The HP Way.'' ``Compaq just triggered something that has been very deeply troubling within Hewlett-Packard for a while. And I think honestly this is more about Hewlett-Packard than it is about Compaq. It's certainly not about the terms of the deal,'' Perkins said. Perkins, who was Chairman of Compaq's Tandem Corporation and who has tight ties in California's Silicon Valley where Hewlett-Packard is based, said that Hewlett-Packard's future path if the deal doesn't go through is unclear. For one thing, he said, the expectation that Chief Executive Carly Fiorina, other management, and members of Hewlett-Packard's board of directors will resign if the deal falls through would leave Hewlett-Packard rudderless. ``Who's going to run Hewlett-Packard? Walter Hewlett, the music professor and David Woodley Packard, the professor of Greek? Are they going to run this thing? One of the largest companies in the world?'' he said. Perkins, who was juggling phone calls from Hewlett-Packard's Fiorina on Wednesday, is a staunch supporter of the deal and has even written an opinion piece for Silicon Valley's San Jose Mercury News in support of it. Compaq chief executive officer Michael Capellas over the weekend sent a memo to employees that addressed the fact that the company had a strategy as a stand-alone company. That had some employees, investors and analysts wondering if Compaq was preparing for a break-up. Perkins said that Compaq's board has no intention of walking away from the deal, in part because that carries a $675 million penalty fee under the contract terms. ``We can't. By the terms of the contract, neither party could withdraw from this arrangement,'' he said.

To: Night Writer who wrote (94199)	12/12/2001 6:38:27 PM
From: hlpinout	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 97611

Hiya NW, I still have my piggy staring at me everyday from atop my monitor. Seen Lynn lately? -- Compaq: Folks In Merger 'Clean Room' Not At Job Risk By Joseph F. Kovar CRN Houston - 9:40 AM EST Wed., Dec. 12, 2001 Responding to a recent CRN report, a Compaq Computer spokesperson denied that Compaq personnel involved in discussions about the details related to the merger of the two companies are at risk of losing their jobs should the merger fall through. The Compaq employees who are in the "clean room" so-called because proprietary information related to the merger goes into the meetings but does not come out remain Compaq-badged people according to the spokesperson. The spokesperson also said Compaq would not put its best people in the clean room if it thought it would lose them. As a result, such people will still be able to work at Compaq if the merger falls through. However, they may not be able to return to their previous positions if the merger fails, said the spokesperson. Also, they will not be allowed to use any information to which they were privy in the clean room once they return to normal duties. Compaq also has a "neat room," which consists of people on the "integration planning team" who are not necessarily in the clean room, the spokesperson said. Compaq officials refuse to name executives in the clean room or even reveal the number of people involved, since new people are continually being added. However, the spokesperson did confirm that Leigh Morrison, western regional vice president for Compaq in charge of sales on the West Coast, joined the team a couple of weeks ago. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2001 CMP Media LLC.

To: Night Writer who wrote (94199)	12/13/2001 1:50:15 PM
From: Elwood P. Dowd	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Opperman: CPQ to scream from here by: gabe2010 (39/M) Long-Term Sentiment: Strong Buy 12/13/01 01:26 pm Msg: 264543 of 264547 cbs.marketwatch.com 2DA246027334F0%7D&siteid=mktw Q. Technology really took off over the past month -- do any industries here still look attractive? Opperman: The box makers, with the exception of Dell (DELL: news, chart, profile), are absurdly cheap. Gateway (GTW: news, chart, profile) was trading at $1.50 above cash on its balance sheet with no debt back in September. It's probably up two-and-a-half times since then. It's still cheap, but not as much as it used to be. Compaq (CPQ: news, chart, profile) is probably up 20 or 30 percent, whereas Dell and Gateway have both doubled, so there's still room to run on Compaq. That's why it's one of the largest holdings in the fund. It's trading at half times revenues. If they get anywhere close to a 5 percent net profit margin at any point in the future, the thing will scream from here.