To: Mohan Marette who wrote (47264 ) 6/11/1998 11:41:00 PM From: HDC Respond to of 176387
Must Read from CPQ Thread Bloomberg News June 11, 1998, 4:08 p.m. PT Compaq to Take $5.4 Billion in Charges for Digital Acquisition New York, June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Compaq Computer Corp. said it plans to take $5.4 billion in charges for its acquisition of Digital Equipment Corp., plus an unspecified charge for a restructuring that includes 2,000 Compaq job cuts, analysts said. The charges for the Digital acquisition include cutting 15,000 jobs and writing off research and development. The restructuring charge will cover the elimination of 2,000 Compaq jobs and could include the write down of some excess personal- computer inventory that still hasn't been sold, said analysts and investors who attended a meeting about Compaq's plans. Compaq, the No. 1 PC maker, has been struggling to clear out a glut of inventory at dealers and distributors, and as it completed its $9.1 billion acquisition of Digital the company reiterated its plan to get PC inventory down to four weeks by the end of this month. The company shipped too many machines late last year, and then got stuck when PC demand waned. ''I'm hopeful. Compaq is a better management than Digital and it can potentially do a whole lot more with the technology and the customer base,'' said portfolio manager Lisa Rapuano of Legg Mason Inc., which owned 3.8 million shares of Compaq and 2 million shares of Digital before the acquisition. ''But I haven't seen Compaq get their own house in order yet.'' Compaq completed its purchase of Digital today and will hold a press conference tomorrow to outline the details of the integration of the two companies. END Thanks to William Hunt who found it in the Bloomberg news. Regards, Duncan