September 3, 2001

8:39 PM

HP buys Compaq for $25 Billion(NY Times link) - The resulting company would be nearly as big as IBM. "The merger ... could create a stronger competitor for Sun Microsystems and IBM in the server computer market while putting pressure on IBM, Dell and Gateway in the personal computer business... The merged company would be in a position to compete with IBM across virtually its entire product line." Now if we can just get someone to fight Microsoft.
posted by mrbula (28 comments total)

What does this mean stock-wise? I have several thousands dollars invested in compaq and I'm a little edgy at the moment to say the least. Any guesses?
posted by bloggboy at 8:43 PM on September 3, 2001

I'm not sure if I like this or not. I've generally had good experiences with Compaq computers. While HP makes some kick-ass printers, the same can't be said for their desktops. This is somewhat superficial, but I'm also curious what name the resulting company would take, or if they'd try to keep both names.
posted by mrbula at 8:46 PM on September 3, 2001

The important question, of course: What will happen to VAX/VMS?
posted by aaron at 8:47 PM on September 3, 2001

The NY Times story said there is an 18% premium for Compaq stock. I'm guessing Wall Street will like this deal. With slower computer sales, consolidation would be desired to boost profits.

What I see from this big, big story is many big companies positioning themselves for this slower growth computer market. I mentioned on my weblog that Gateway's recent trouble makes it a prime target for acquisition, but that's not to say companies like EMC, Sun, Dell, or IBM looking for something to gobble up.
posted by shackbar at 8:49 PM on September 3, 2001

Here's a possible name: Com-Pack. I know, really lame.
posted by shackbar at 8:50 PM on September 3, 2001

How about Hewlett Compaqrrd? It has that riot nrrd flava.
posted by waxpancake at 8:52 PM on September 3, 2001

Cool... and Carleton Fiorina will stay in charge. I doubt this will mean anything for consumers (maybe together they can produce a decent laptop for once?), but it's cool to see such a large corporation with a woman at the top.
posted by mathowie at 8:55 PM on September 3, 2001

How about HAL. The ultimate nerd name and IBM killer.
posted by shackbar at 8:55 PM on September 3, 2001

How About Digital Equipment : 0
posted by ParisParamus at 8:58 PM on September 3, 2001

they could probably pick up gateway pretty cheaply right about now too...
posted by judith at 9:19 PM on September 3, 2001

The only way anything good could come out of this is if the combined company suddenly grew a pair and decided that, gee, maybe letting Intel bury the fastest CPU architecture on the planet isn't such a great idea.

(for those not following the esoteric high-end CPU scene, a couple months ago Compaq announced the end of developments on their Alpha line of CPU's. Compaq got the line when they bought Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) a while back, and squandered much of the momentum behind what had been the fastest line of CPU's one the planet, allowing Intel to become competitive (though Alphas still hold the highest peak numbers for SPEC integer and floating point tests). Alphas were no-compromise beasts, stomping on everything in their path, and they were willingly sold out to Intel, so Intel could buy their way out of having to actually compete on performance terms. It's the kind of thing that makes geeks cry...)
posted by NortonDC at 9:30 PM on September 3, 2001

Sigh, the whole thing also takes on sinister overtones when you trace back further, since HP collaborated with Intel on developing the annointed replacement for X86, IA64. How long has Compaq been angling toward being a compliant partner for another company already spending so much time in bed with Intel?
posted by NortonDC at 9:34 PM on September 3, 2001

What name change? Compaq's name is worth tons, expect it to stay the same until if becomes unprofitable.
posted by skallas at 10:50 PM on September 3, 2001

I doubt they'll stop using the Comaq brand name, but on the other hand I guess the parent company may take on a new name. I think it will be more like the Daimler Chrysler deal, or the AOLTW merger.
posted by riffola at 10:59 PM on September 3, 2001

HomPaq might work. They can even use the HP initials...
posted by Mikoid at 11:02 PM on September 3, 2001

Read the articles, people, the joined company will be named Hewlett-Packard. And that's a good thing, IMHO: as important as Compaq was in PC history, there's tons more history in the H-P name.
posted by costas at 1:52 AM on September 4, 2001

It'll be interesting to see how HP directs the future of OpenVMS, Tru64 UNIX, and HP-UX. I suppose that Tru64 UNIX is the 64-bit OS they've been lusting after...
posted by shinybeast at 1:53 AM on September 4, 2001

Use the initials that everyone uses to refer to Hewlett-Packard as anyway (HP), and then add the "C" from Compaq = HPC.
posted by davidmsc at 4:37 AM on September 4, 2001

Given that both HP and Compaq have fairly abysmal records when it comes to mergers, my expectations are pretty low.
posted by MrBaliHai at 6:47 AM on September 4, 2001

For those who follow F1, Compaq has a sponsorship contract with the Williams team till 2003, it also provides sevices to the Sauber team. HP sponsors the Jaguar and Jordan teams, and also provides services to the Benetton [Renault] team. So it will be interesting to see how to handle the various contracts.
posted by riffola at 8:00 AM on September 4, 2001

Pictures of the lady in charge: one - two
posted by kchristidis at 9:24 AM on September 4, 2001

Actually, the HP we now know doesn't even have any of the traditional businesses which made the name great. All those businesses (test and measurement equipment) were spun off as a separate company called Agilent.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 9:32 AM on September 4, 2001

Hrm. Two once-great, still-huge companies merging to form a single once-great, now-gigantic company? Gosh, *that* is a recipe for success! Wow, what genius! Now I know why they pay those execs the big bucks.
posted by aramaic at 10:34 AM on September 4, 2001

I've generally had good experiences with Compaq computers. While HP makes some kick-ass printers, the same can't be said for their desktops. This is somewhat superficial, but I'm also curious what name the resulting company would take, or if they'd try to keep both names.

I thought the opposite was true, with Compaq making the bad machines and HP making somewhat better ones.

From what I've heard, they're going to lose the Compaq name and go with just HP..
posted by valerie at 10:37 AM on September 4, 2001

Yeah, Compaqs are the sucky ones, in my experience. My tech-impaired dad picked mine and the family's ones out for us. I shall never let him pick out a computer again. {g}
posted by lannie628 at 3:26 PM on September 4, 2001

I've had both brands of machines, worked on both brands of machines, and its a wash in suckiness.

The one thing I like about Compaq, which I don't know if HP has adopted in the new cases (haven't worked with one in about a year) is the easy access they have, where you don't need a screwdriver to change drives and add new hard drives and such. That is pretty cool. With the exception of removing the screws from the casing, which I do on day one of ownership, like most geeks would. So this is one aspect I like.

I'm curious about the future of their respective PocketPC lines. I wonder if they will have a Hewlett Packard iPaq, or make the iPaq a Jornada. But this is going to hurt Microsoft, because their roster of manufacturers for these units, slim as it was, has now been reduced by one.
posted by benjh at 5:23 PM on September 4, 2001