InfoAnda - DealTalk: Private equity scours Hewlett-Packard for cracks |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Lehman failure 'fault of managers, banks, auditors' | 12 March 2010
Fresh suspicion over Pakistan-Australia cricket Test | 6 September 2010
Jake Gyllenhaal cracking sci-fi "Code" | 9 November 2009

Hungary MOL says suspends Pakistan oil and gas well | 24 January 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : DealTalk: Private equity scours Hewlett-Packard for cracks |

Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read U.S. caught China buying more debt than disclosed 8:54am EDT Putin says Russian 2012 election will be dirty 8:34am EDT Visa, MasterCard "more investable" after new fee rules 8:44am EDT Analysis: Obama's jobs plan aimed at voters, not debt talks 10:46am EDT Analysts upbeat on Visa, MasterCard after new card fee 7:07am EDT Discussed 114 Fragile economy pushed Obama to tap oil reserves 99 Top Republicans insist no taxes in debt deal 66 U.S. cost of war at least $3.7 trillion and counting Watched A Tokyo-Paris flight in under three hours on the horizon Fri, Jun 24 2011 Austerity vote passed amid violent Greek protests Wed, Jun 29 2011 New report delves into the costs of war Wed, Jun 29 2011 DealTalk: Private equity scours Hewlett-Packard for cracks Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Wall St posts biggest 3-day surge in three months Wed, Jun 29 2011 Microsoft rolls out Office in the cloud Tue, Jun 28 2011 UPDATE 4-Hospital owner Vanguard Health in tepid market debut Wed, Jun 22 2011 Dentsply buys Astra Tech for $1.8 billion Wed, Jun 22 2011 Carlyle Japan eyes industrials, domestic deals Mon, Jun 20 2011 Analysis & Opinion Tech wrap: Microsoft reaches for the cloud Entrepreneur Peter Yared: Social is â€œso overâ€ Related Topics Technology » Deals » 2011 Q2 » Global Deals Review - Parent folder » Inflows Outflows » Media » A logo of HP is seen outside Hewlett-Packard Belgian headquarters in Diegem, near Brussels in this January 12, 2010 file photo. Credit: Reuters/Thierry Roge By Nadia Damouni and Poornima Gupta NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO | Thu Jun 30, 2011 10:38am EDT NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If private equity firms had their way, Hewlett-Packard Co would look less like a monolithic tanker and more like a small fleet of streamlined schooners. Private equity firms including Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and TPG Capital would like HP to break up and sell them some of its unit, arguing that the world's No.1 PC maker and tech powerhouse is stretched too thin, according to people familiar with the matter. HP Chief Executive Leo Apotheker is having none of that for now, sources told Reuters. But pressure from investors is likely to increase if he cannot quickly improve the performance of a company that has missed Wall Street targets for two quarters. "Private equity were like termites or locusts swarming around them over the past few months," said one person with knowledge of the situation, who like other sources spoke on condition of anonymity. "The guy at the top said, 'We are not breaking it up. We see value in the whole thing. Apple is the benchmark and they have put together software and hardware and consumer and corporate, and that's what we want to do.'" HP, TPG, Blackstone and KKR declined to comment. Private equity firms, looking to line their own pockets, have circled HP for years, during the turbulent tenure of Carly Fiorina and after IBM sold its PC unit in 2004 to focus more on software and services. Calls for a break-up of HP had quieted during Mark Hurd's era as he pushed through cost cuts and boosted the performance of individual businesses to combat stagnant revenue growth. But after Hurd left and HP trimmed its revenue growth forecast twice in a row, chatter about HP is gaining volume in Silicon Valley. Could HP's computing, printing and enterprise services businesses be worth more apart than the company's current $72 billion market capitalization? "I could see HP peeling off some of the divisions, perhaps those that are less profitable," said Michael Yoshikami, chief executive of YCMNET Advisors, a minor shareholder in HP. "As management is continuing to try to figure out exactly what they are going to do to grow the company, I think all the cards are on the table," he said. PCS, PRINTERS HP's low-margin but high-volume PC business is seen as the most vulnerable asset, given intense competition and the slide in consumer PC demand. Another unit seen as a likely candidate for a spinoff is the lucrative printing unit. However, such moves would be a dramatic restructuring for a company that generated $126 billion in revenue and $8.8 billion in profit in its last fiscal year. HP's personal systems group, which includes PCs, accounted for 13 percent of profit; printing and imaging pulled in 30 percent; and enterprise, which includes storage and services, was 56 percent. "Leo is still in the early stages, trying to figure out what he is doing with HP," said a source familiar with the company. "One of the things they like is their sheer size. If you tried to break it up, you would have the consumer side, you would have hardware, a portfolio of questionable software and obviously services. It doesn't make a lot of sense." Bankers and company insiders do not expect Apotheker to make drastic changes in the near term. A sale of any unit would be hugely complicated, with profits subject to hefty taxation unless HP could find a way to spin off the entities. Investors are willing to give the former head of SAP AG more time to deal with uneven operations and lower costs, as he attempts to take HP into new markets such as cloud computing and tablet computers. HP's new TouchPad is set to launch next month. Pressure on Apotheker will increase if HP's much-touted WebOS platform, which it acquired with Palm Inc, fails to deliver on its promise to become the operating software for all the company's mobile devices and applications. "They are launching these Palm-based devices, we will see how those go," said one of HP's top 10 shareholders, who declined to be identified. "If those don't work, one would think there would be room to make decisions there." BLEEDING VALUATION There's no question many shareholders are unhappy with HP's share performance. Since Apotheker took over eight months ago, the stock is down 13 percent compared with a 30 percent rise in the Nasdaq composite index. HP's market cap of $72 billion is far lower than its estimated annual revenue of $129 billion this year. By comparison, Oracle's market cap of $164 billion dwarfs estimated revenue of $36 billion, and IBM's market cap of $201 billion is double forecast revenue. Some say a breakup would benefit Apotheker and HP. HP could narrow its focus to enterprises, get out of slow-growth businesses and bring more clarity to its brand, said the top 10 shareholder, who did not want to be identified as his firm remains a long term investor. At least one division head has approached Apotheker about offloading parts of the company, the first source said. A continued slide in HP's stock price and another couple of weak quarters could pave the way for private equity groups to swoop in to try and pick off valuable units. HP is no stranger to divestitures. In 1999, it spun off its measurement and components businesses to form a new company, Agilent Technologies, which eventually went public. "Printing could be one they look at to get rid of if you believe the significance is going to continue to decline," said Eric Jackson, founder of Ironfire Capital LLC, a hedge fund that owned HP stock earlier this year. "PCs, that would be a more difficult thing to walk away from because it has defined these people for so long." (Additional reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Tiffany Wu and Bernard Orr) Technology Deals 2011 Q2 Global Deals Review - Parent folder Inflows Outflows Media Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Thursday, 30 June 2011
Myanmar government warns Suu Kyi on planned tour |
Greek police battle rioters as austerity bill passed |
Trial Opens of New Orleans Police Officers Charged in the Danziger Bridge Shootings
California state lawmakers pass budget with deep cuts
North, south Sudan agree on demilitarized border zone |
Toyota voluntarily recalling 2006, 2007 Highlander Hybrid and Lexus Rx 400h
North Irish militants forcing police from their homes |
Lindsay Lohan finishes house arrest sentence
Pat Cantlay may be the most intriguing golfer in AT&T field
Obama welcomes same-sex marriage in New York
Online labor demand down nearly 100K in June
Obama asks Congress to cancel vacations, deal with challenges
Mexico appeals to Supreme Court to spare citizen from death penalty
Bangladesh plans moves to get off human trafficking watch list
News Corp to sell Myspace for $35 million: source |
LivingSocial moving ahead with $1 billion IPO: report |
Vulnerabilities found in Google Chrome PC security |
Lindsay Lohan ends home detention after 35 days |
Second Greek vote expected to pass amid protest anger |
Egypt police clash with youths; over 1,000 hurt |
Exclusive: U.S. to resume formal Muslim Brotherhood contacts |
Hot-hitting Mets score 16 runs to survive slugfest with Tigers
Newsmaker: South Sudan president steers nation to independence |
Chinese Mongolians protest again, herders beaten: rights group |
Yunel Escobar comes through as Blue Jays rally past Pirates
Analysis: A Thaksinomics renaissance in Thailand |
Kim cancelled Russia trip on security worry: report |
Thunder extend veteran center Nazr Mohammed's deal
Magnitude 5.4 quake hits central Japan, 7 injured |
Notre Dame wideout Floyd gets probation after guilty plea for drunk driving
Dave Hutsell wins 44th PGA club pro championship
New doubts raised on Saleh's return |
Hot-hitting Mets storm to 8-2 fifth inning advantage over Tigers
Indians jump out to early lead, take rubber-game from Diamondbacks
Women's World Cup: Rosana's goal launches Brazilians over Aussies
Joe Rogan to return for "Fear Factor" re-boot
Scott Baker tossed 7 1-3 scoreless frames as Twins blank Dodgers
Amazon protests California Web-sales tax plan |
Samsung asks U.S. to ban iPad, iPhone imports |
Dell to keep up acquisitions, sustain margin growth |
Transformers debut ticket sales top $13 million |
David Duchovny and wife Tea Leoni separate again |
Man gets two years for Paris Hilton burglary attempt |
Author James Patterson eyes movies, kids reading |
New Yorkers get fresh look at Ai Weiwei's art |
NATO air strike kills fighter linked to Afghan hotel attack |
Russia: arming Libya rebels is crude violation |
U.N.-backed court delivers Hariri killing indictments |
UK teachers, civil servants strike over pensions |
College tuition data released for first time
Some states still leave low-income students behind; others make surprising gains
Brotherhood gets out Muslim message with movies
Denise Richards adopts baby girl
Sarkozy involved in scuffle during handshake tour |
Firefighters hopeful about wild fire burning near Los Alamos lab
Myanmar's Suu Kyi to plans first trip since release |
Moroccan voters asked to approve reforms
Still waiting for an anti-human trafficking law
Analysis:French opinion shifts but a nuclear exit would be tough |
Javier Colon wins first season of 'The Voice'
Cultural mainstreaming leaves MSM at high HIV risk
Satellite data to help farmers with micro-climates
DealTalk: Private equity scours Hewlett-Packard for cracks |
Skype introduces video calling for Android phones |
LightSquared submits GPS report to FCC |
HMV to refocus on gadgets as profits slump |
Global tech spend to jump 7.1 percent in 2011: Gartner |
Vodafone CFO sees $5.5 billion dividend from Verizon |
Harry Potter to cast final spell with eighth, last film |
Forgotten Chaplin film fails to find buyer at auction |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01