Hewlett-Packard kjøper EDS

HP skjøper EDS for 19,9 milliarder dollar, ca 70 milliarder. New York Times skriver:

SAN FRANCISCO — The Hewlett-Packard Company, the personal computer and printer maker, said Tuesday that it would acquire the Electronic Data Systems Corporation, the operator of corporate computer systems, for $13.9 billion.

The price of $25 a share represents a 32.5 percent premium to Electronic Data Systems’ closing price of $18.86 on Friday.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of this year, has been approved by the boards of both companies. H.P. said in a statement Tuesday that it intended to make E.D.S. a separate business group that would remain in Plano, Tex.

The deal will make H.P. the second-largest player in the industry behind I.B.M., and is H.P.’s largest acquisition since it acquired Compaq for $20 billion six years ago.

The chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, Mark V. Hurd, said Tuesday in an interview that H.P. needed E.D.S. because “this is an asset that we can extend our capabilities.”

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