Hewlett-Packard Said to Be Close to Buying E.D.S. - New York Times

Interesting times

The question is whether an acquisition of E.D.S. would give Hewlett-Packard the inside track it is looking for in competing against I.B.M. and other rivals. And the answer on Monday from Wall Street analysts was a decidedly mixed one. Hewlett-Packard’s stock price seemed to reflect the uncertainty, falling after news of a potential deal began to circulate. The stock closed at $46.83, down nearly 5 percent.

Shares of E.D.S. closed at $24.13, up 28 percent from Friday’s close.

“It’s a very significant combination,” said Ben Pring, a research vice president in the IT Practices Group at Gartner. But “people who are skeptical of big integrations will have a field day around this,” he said. “It’s putting together two large businesses with two different heritages. It’s going to be a big culture clash.”

Hewlett-Packard Said to Be Close to Buying E.D.S. - New York Times