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

To: Jerome who wrote (4457)	3/28/2002 11:35:37 AM
From: Kirk ©	Respond to of 4722

Hewlett sues H-P over proxy fight now the mud really flies! marketwatch.com Hewlett sues H-P over proxy fight By Mike Tarsala, CBS.MarketWatch.com PALO ALTO, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Walter Hewlett said Thursday that he is suing Hewlett-Packard on behalf of his family trust, charging that H-P unfairly solicited votes in the final minutes of the proxy fight to decide the fate of the H-P-Compaq merger. The suit in the Delaware Chancery Court takes issue with the way H-P held up its shareholder meeting on March 19 to win last-minute votes from Deutsche Asset Management, a unit of Deutsche Bank (DBKWF: news, chart, profile), which may have swung the contest in H-P's favor. Deutsche Asset Management cast 17 million shares for the merger as the shareholders' meeting was under way. Of note is that Deutsche Bank helped arrange a $4 billion revolving credit line for H-P the week prior to the shareholder vote. "Mr. Hewlett and the trust have asked the Court for expedited proceedings so that these very important issues can be resolved as soon as possible," Hewlett said in a statement. "Mr. Hewlett and the Trust want to ensure that the ultimate outcome of the HP stockholder vote on March 19th was determined in a full, fair and lawful manner." Hewlett, son of company co-founder William Hewlett, has waged a months-long campaign to block H-P's acquisition of Compaq, arguing that it's too expensive and risky. Hewlett, his family foundation and trusts, own about 5.7 percent of H-P's shares. Hewlett couldn't immediately be reached for comment to say whether the suit indicates he's admitted defeat in the proxy contest. Carly Fiorina, H-P's chief executive, announced she believes H-P has enough votes to complete the merger following the shareholder meeting, while Hewlett said the tally was too close to call. Hewlett-Packard did not have an immediate comment regarding the suit. A company spokesman said H-P is preparing a statement.