spin-offs

Earlier this week, Hewlett-Packard Chairman Ray Lane said to a trade publication that he favors using "HP" in the name of a spun off PC business. He also explained that investors don't necessarily like innovation.

In a CRN interview, Lane said he's "lobbying, and I don't have to lobby very hard" to call it the "HP PC Business. Call it HP." It would be a "sister company" like Agilent, which HP spun off in 1999, he said to CRN.

Lane also re-emphasized that a final decision has not yet … Read more

The top executive at Hewlett-Packard's personal computer division is hoping to see a spin-off as soon as possible, according to a report today in The Wall Street Journal.

Todd Bradley, who heads the Personal Systems Group, told the newspaper that he wants to see HP make the spin-off happen "as soon as they can." But he added that it may not happen before the end of the year.

Bradley told the Journal that the absence of a clear plan for the PC business is causing "some uncertainty" among customers.

In related news, HP distributed an … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is turning up the volume on its pitch to spin off the PC business.

In the wake of announcing its intention to "evaluate strategic alternatives" for its PC business, HP is now making a case, via ads in the media--such as today's San Francisco Chronicle--to spin off the PC unit as a separate company.

That means HP is likely leaning strongly toward precluding other alternatives such as selling the business to another PC maker. "We prefer a spin-off as a separate company and the working hypotheses is that a spin-off will be in the … Read more

The head of Hewlett-Packard's Personal Systems Group believes that his division will lead the PC market even after it might be spun off from its parent company.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview published today, PSG chief Todd Bradley told the news outlet that he expects his division to continue to reign supreme in the PC business in the coming months and years, adding that the firm will also be "one of, if not the largest customers of all of our major suppliers, be it Samsung to LG to Microsoft to Intel."

HP earlier this month made the surprising announcement … Read more

Hewlett-Packard said today that it prefers to spin off its PC business rather than sell it outright, according to a Reuters report.

The company is studying the ramifications of the spinning off its personal computer business, according to the report.

Earlier this month, HP announced that its board of directors had "authorized the evaluation of strategic alternatives" for its Personal Systems Group (PSG). Those alternatives include the separation of its PC business into a separate company through a spin-off or other transaction.

"We prefer a spin-off as a separate company, and the working hypotheses is that a … Read more

Hewlett-Packard said today that it is spinning off its PC unit as it tries to escape the financial throes of the increasingly low-margin PC business.

On top of confirming it is in talks to acquire Autonomy and essentially shuttering its WebOS operations, HP said its board of directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for its PC business, the Personal Systems Group (PSG).

"HP will consider a broad range of options that may include, among others, a full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction," the company said. HP expects that … Read more

AOL will officially be spun off from Time Warner on December 9, with trading to begin the next day.

Shareholders of record at 2 p.m. PST on November 27 will get one share of AOL for every 11 shares of Time Warner on the day of the long-expected spinoff of the Internet service.

At Time Warner's current market cap of $38 billion, that gives AOL an implied value of $3.2 billion--a fraction of Google's $20 billion valuation of the portal in 2005, when it invested $1 billion in the property. And it's even lower … Read more

Google is calling in its chips in its $1 billion investment in Time Warner's AOL.

The search giant, which struck the hefty deal back in 2005, gave it a 5 percent stake in AOL.

The 2005 arrangement, not only included collaboration on advertising, instant messaging and video, but also gave Google "certain customary minority shareholder rights," such as those related to any future sale or public offering of AOL.

With the markets in the doldrums and AOL's business continuing to take a beating, as evidenced in Time Warner's fourth-quarter earnings report Wednesday, Google is looking … Read more

Update Tuesday 4:12 a.m. PDT: AMD has made the official announcement of the manufacturing spin-off.

On Tuesday, Advanced Micro Devices will announce a long-expected restructuring, according to sources familiar with the deal.

As expected, the No. 2 supplier of PC processors will split into two companies: one for designing chips, the other for manufacturing them. The capital-intensive business of manufacturing chips is weighing on AMD as it reels under a $5 billion debt load.

The investment is expected to allow AMD to remain directly involved in chip manufacturing--crucial for competing with Intel, which has used its manufacturing prowess … Read more