Dell agrees $1.6bn 3Par takeover

26 August 2010 Last updated at 12:43 ET

Computer giant Dell has agreed to take over data storage firm 3Par after tabling an improved offer for the company.
Dell says its new offer of $24.30 a share has been accepted by 3Par, following a battle for the company with rival Hewlett Packard (HP).
The new agreement values 3Par at $1.6bn (£1bn), matching an earlier offer tabled by HP on Monday.
Dell said the deal would “dramatically accelerate” 3Par’s revenue growth.
“Dell has a demonstrated commitment and track record in integrating and growing acquired companies and nurturing their entrepreneurial and innovative cultures,” the company said in a statement.
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However, analysts say that, despite the deal with Dell, HP could well return to the table with a better offer.
With revenues between April and June almost double those of Dell, HP has greater resources to call upon, they say.
“Even though Dell has the balance sheet to step up the offer, they’re probably reaching the upper limits of what they can offer,” said Ashok Kumar at Rodman & Renshaw.
“At the end of the day, Hewlett-Packard is in a better position to close the deal.”
The bidding war for 3Par reflects the growing interest in the industry in “cloud computing” - technology that allows users to access files or services remotely over the internet, rather than just from their own local servers.
3Par says its storage systems can cut storage administration costs by up to 90% and infrastructure costs by up to 75%.
Bid battle
3Par had already signed a takeover agreement with Dell last week, in a deal worth around $1.15bn.
But that included a provision for Dell to match competing bids.
In New York, shares in 3Par fell more than 1.6% following the announcement, suggesting that investors expected a higher bid from Dell.
Shares in both Dell and Hewlett Packard rose.
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Computer giant Hewlett-Packard to create 700 jobs in Scotland

By Mail Online ReporterLast updated at 3:15 PM on 25th August 2010

Technology group Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced plans to set up an IT hub at its Scottish base, in a move that will create 700 jobs.
The global company will turn its Erskine site in Renfrewshire into a centre for delivering IT services to UK customers with the help of a £7million grant from government agency Scottish Enterprise.
The site currently houses Hewlett-Packard’s sales and customers support operations.

IT centre: Hewlett-Packard received £7million of government funding

The new jobs will come one year after the company axed some 700 manufacturing jobs at Erskine as part of a restructuring drive that led to the transfer of production to the Czech Republic.
Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said the new posts highlighted Scotland’s strengths ‘as a first-class destination for technology’.
He added: ‘HP’s decision to make this investment at Erskine reflects the quality of Scotland’s skilled workforce to perform and deliver success.’ 
 

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The true mark of success is knowing how to lose one’s job

Furthermore, neither scandal nor failure seems to be a bar to future employment, once executives have scaled the heights.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Mark Hurd, the recently ousted CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HP), already has job offers coming in. The fact that he was asked to leave the US technology company as a result of business conduct violations, connected to his relationship with a female marketing consultant, doesn’t seem to have stemmed the flow of calls.
While it is true that the HP board found no violation of its sexual harassment policy (Hurd has privately settled a claim from the woman), the improprieties by the boss of a company that had a stated policy of keeping out of corporate governance trouble hardly instill confidence.
Not surprisingly, at least one source of the reported offers is a private equity business, the departing executive’s favourite port in – or after – a storm.
Among those cast adrift after the financial crisis, Andy Hornby, formerly of HBOS, is now running private equity-owned Alliance Boots; while Northern Rock’sex-boss Adam Applegarth is advising US-based Apollo.
And there are plenty of advisory positions for former politicians to be had, too.
The genuinely voluntary departure, without a job to go to, is a rare thing, in politics as well as in business. Most resignations are nothing of the sort: they are carefully-worded circumlocutions, designed to preserve the dignity of those being eased out. So to quit on the stated grounds that one is not up to the job is almost unheard of.
That is what makes the stance taken by Lord Pearson of Rannoch, who resigned as leader of the UK Independence Party this week, so delicious. “I have learnt that I am not much good at party politics, which I do not enjoy,” he wrote in his resignation letter. Instead, he plans to focus on other interests – including “the treatment of people with intellectual impairment, teacher training, the threat from Islamism and the relationship between good and evil, not to mention my dogs and my family” (what I like best is that he lists his dogs ahead of his family).
There was one flaw in Lord Pearson’s announcement: he couldn’t resist pointing out that he had overseen a 50pc increase in the party’s share of the vote in the election. The subtle underlying message was that even though he, Lord Pearson, didn’t rate his performance terribly highly, others might well beg to differ. Still, this is a mere quibble.
It must be harder for Americans, who often think that what we would call showing-off is just healthy self-esteem.
Taking this into account, I thought Stanley Druckenmiller, the legendary hedge fund manager who once bet against the pound, did rather well in his letter to investors. Announcing the closure of his fund, Mr Druckenmiller explained that “the disappointment of each interim drawdown over the years has taken a cumulative toll that I cannot continue to sustain. This is true even though to date we have delivered an unbroken record of positive annual performance, which I hope will continue for 2010 as well. And while our clients were certainly pleased that we achieved positive results for 2008 and 2009 in a challenging environment, as you may have surmised I was dissatisfied with those results because they didnot match my own, internallong-term standard.”
In other words, however brilliant Mr Druckenmiller may appear to everyone else, he has such high standards that he constantly disappoints himself.
I don’t know about fund management, but in the very British art of mock self-deprecation, Mr Druckenmiller is certainly a champion.
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Hewlett-Packard in $1bn Palm deal

Palm, a pioneer in the smart phone business, is being bought by US computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $1bn (£657m) cash.HP said Palm’s webOS operating system would help it expand more aggressively in the fast-growing market for smart phones and connected mobile devices. When Palm’s debt is included, the deal values the company at $1.2bn. HP, paying $5.70 for each Palm share, said it hoped to complete the deal by the end of July. Although HP is paying a premium to Palm’s closing share price on Wednesday of $4.63, it is well below the company’s 52-week high of $18.09. Struggled to competeLast year Palm unveiled a well-reviewed touch-screen phone, the Pre, but which did not hit its sales target. Although once a trailblazer in handheld devices, Palm has in recent years struggled to compete in a market dominated by Apple and BlackBerry. HP said Palm’s chairman and chief executive, former Apple executive Jon Rubinstein, was expected to remain with the company. Donna Dubinsky and Jeff Hawkins founded Palm in 1992, and in 1995 it was bought by US Robotics, a modem maker that itself was bought by 3Com in 1997. Palm was spun off again as its own company in 2000. It is thought that Dell, one of HP’s rivals, was also interested in buying Palm.

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Hewlett-Packard sees signs of stability

Hewlett-Packard (HP) reported a drop in profits but pointed to signs of
stability in the market.

The world’s largest PC maker said its profit dropped 19 per cent in the latest
quarter, dragged by ongoing weakness in sales of personal computers,
software and printer ink.

But the company said that consumer spending on PCs was improving, helped by
price cuts. HP has been branching out aggressively into other areas, like
technology services and computer networking, but the PC business still makes
up nearly a third of its revenue.

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Laptop sales jump helps HP profit

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has reported a 21% jump in sales of laptops for the August to October period and a 99% rise in revenue from technology services.

The increase in services revenues follows HP’s acquisition of Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Read more

HP’s profits exceed expectations

The world’s biggest PC maker, Hewlett-Packard (HP), has beaten forecasts by posting a better-than-expected net profit in the fourth quarter.

HP said it made a $1.03 (£0.68) net profit per share excluding charges, 3% higher than the Wall Street analysts expected. Read more

Fire fear sparks battery recall

Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony-made batteries due to fears they may overheat or catch fire.

Sony said the recall came after 40 instances of overheating, including four cases where users had minor burns. Read more

Fire fear sparks battery recall

Laptop-makers including Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Toshiba are recalling 100,000 Sony-made batteries due to fears they may overheat or catch fire.

Sony said the recall came after 40 instances of overheating, including four cases where users had minor burns. Read more