Hewlett-Packard

Hewlett-Packard (commonly referred to as HP) is an American technology company that primarily manufactures computer hardware and peripherals, including desktops, laptops, printers, and cameras. It also provides information technology and consulting services.

In September 3, 2001, HP announced that it had entered into an agreement to merge with Compaq. The merger deal was approved by both companies in May of 2002, resulting in the product lines and product development teams of both companies becoming consolidated.http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2002/020503a.html

On August 6, 2010, Mark Hurd stepped down as CEO of HP. Both he and lead independent board member Robert Ryan stressed that the departure has nothing to do with the company's financial health. Rather, it was because he violated HP's standards of business conduct.

The company's sexual-harassment policy was not found to be violated by Hurd, but an investigation due to a sexual-harassment claim uncovered breaches of other company standards. Cathie Lesjak, the company's CFO, was appointed as acting CEO. She had decided not to be considered as a permanent replacement for Hurd.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/06/business/main6750430.shtml?tag=stack

In September of 2009, Hewlett-Packard made the decision to sue Mark Hurd after Hurd attempted to become co-president of rival company Oracle. HP's reasoning for filing the lawsuit was that Hurd cannot carry out his duties as president of Oracle without exposing HP's secrets to his new employers. The lawsuit effectively blocks Hurd from taking his new position with Oracle at least until the lawsuit is resolved.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/11/BUVV1FBISL.DTL

On April 28, 2010, Hewlett-Packard announced that it had finalized a deal to purchase Palm at a price of $5.70 cash per share for a total of $1.2 billion USD. This represents a 23 percent premium over the closing price for Palm shares which closed trading the same day at $4.63 per share. The deal has already been approved by the board of directors of both companies.http://www.cnbc.com/id/36832774 According to the press release issued by HP, the current chairman and CEO of Palm, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company in an, as of yet, unannounced capacity.http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2010/100428xa.html

Palm had been the subject of much speculation on Wall street as its sales figures and stock price dropped. On April 12, 2010 Palm had announced that it had retained Goldman Sachs and Qatalyst Partners to procure a buyer for the company.http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/palm-for-sale/

Acquiring Palm is thought to revitalize Hewlett-Packard's attempts to enter the smartphone market. Currently, HP smartphones have consisted of devices branded under the iPAQ name and using the Windows Mobile Operating System. According to the press release issued by HP announcing the acquisition, future smartphone devices released by HP will utilize the Palm OS.http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2010/100428xa.html

• January 1, 1939: Company founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard on an investment of $538
• August 8, 1947: Company incorporated
• November 6, 1957: Company goes public, uses the stock symbol HWP
• 1984: Introduces its inkjet and laser printers
• 1987: Garage in which company was founded is declared a California state historical landmark
• 2002: Merges with Compaq, a major computer manufacturer, and changes stock symbol from HWP to HPQ
• September 5, 2006: Newsweek reveals that chairwoman Patricia Dunn hired outside parties to spy on board members and several journalists.
• October, 2006: Marketing research indicates that HP outsells competitor, Dell, by a 3.5% margin of total market share
• April 28, 2010: Announces buy out of Palm for $1.2 Billion USD