Compaq Computer Corp. shareholders on Wednesday needed just 45 minutes to approve Hewlett-Packard Co.’s acquisition of their company, a day after HP claimed victory in its own shareholder vote that was among the most contentious in history.
Ninety percent of Compaq shareholders voted for the deal, even though it would effectively end the life of the company, which was founded in December 1982 after three Texas Instruments engineers drew their plan for a 27-pound portable computer on a House of Pies napkin.
Both Compaq and HP have acknowledged that as many as 15,000 positions could be eliminated. Compaq Chief Executive Michael Capellas, who would be the No. 2 executive at the new HP, said the combined company will have “a very large presence” in Houston, but few at Compaq expect to be saved.
“They’ve been laying off so much, we’re pretty used to it,” said Alfhiea Harris, who works in inventory control at Compaq, which cut 7,000 jobs in 2001.
But Charles Wolf, an analyst for Needham and Co., said these layoffs would be different. “This one’s going to be bloodier,” he said. “A lot of the past layoffs came from the economy going to hell. These layoffs would happen in a bull economy.”
It will take several weeks to determine the official result of the HP vote. Independent proxy counters must verify each vote, and each side can challenge whether the proper people signed certain ballots.
HP chief Carly Fiorina endured boos at her company’s meeting Tuesday in California, but felt comfortable enough to later say she had won. “We think we have a slim but sufficient margin, and we think it’s important to let people know that,” she said.
HP director Walter Hewlett, the son of one of the company’s founders and the leader of a fierce five-month campaign against the deal, insisted the HP vote was too close to call–especially since investors were allowed to change their minds several times, with only their last ballot counting.
Once both shareholders’ votes are certified, HP and Compaq can begin working together. Compaq chief financial officer Jeff Clarke said he expected the deal to take three weeks to close.
Nearly one-fourth of HP shares were publicly in Hewlett’s camp. Less than 10 percent had declared support for the deal, but Fiorina said a “silent majority” came through in favor.
