Hewlett-Packard, commonly referred to as HP, was an electronics technology company based in Palo Alto, California. Before its 2015 split into two companies, it was known as a leading developer and manufacturer of personal computers, enterprise servers, storage devices, networking products, software, and a range of printers and other imaging products, as well as a provider of services and consulting. In 2012, HP was the largest technology company in the world in terms of revenue, ranking 10th in the Fortune Global 500. The company was founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in a small garage on January 1, 1939, initially producing a line of electronic test and measurement equipment. As of 2012, Hewlett-Packard had made a total of 129 acquisitions since 1986;[a] The majority of companies acquired by HP were based in the United States. Its first acquisition was the FL Moseley Company in 1958. This move enabled HP to enter the plotter market, the precursor to its leading role in the printer business. In 1989, HP purchased Apollo Computer for US$476 million, enabling HP to become the largest supplier of computer workstations. In 1995, the company bought another computer manufacturer, Convex Computer, for $150 million. In 2000, HP spun off its early measurement, chemical and medical businesses into an independent company named Agilent Technologies. The company's largest acquisition came in 2002, when it merged with Compaq, a personal computer manufacturer, for $25 billion. The combined company overtook Dell for the largest share of the personal computer market worldwide in the second quarter. Their last pre-split acquisition in the enterprise networking segment was Aruba Networks in March 2015 for $3 billion. Within IT networking hardware and storage market segments, HP made acquisitions worth over $15 billion, including the 3PAR and 3COM acquisitions made in 2010, totaling over $5 billion. Its largest IT services and consulting acquisition was Electronic Data Systems in 2008 for $13.9 billion. In the software products market segment, a stream of acquisitions helped strengthen HP's position. The largest software company purchased prior to 2011 was Mercury Interactive for $4.5 billion. This acquisition doubled the size of HP's software business to more than $2 billion in annual revenue. In 2012 and 2013, HP had no acquisitions in any of its business segments as the firm was dealing with the aftermath of an $8.8 billion write-off, suffered as a result of its acquisition of British software company Autonomy Corporation for $11 billion in 2011. In 2014, HP returned to the acquisition market by acquiring computer networking software company Shunra. On October 6, 2014, HP announced that it would split into two companies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. The former focuses on enterprise infrastructure hardware, software and services, whilst the latter focuses on consumer markets with PCs and printers. On November 1, 2015, they became separate companies.
Acquisitions Each acquisition was for the respective company in its entirety, unless otherwise specified. The agreement date listed is the date of the agreement between HP and the subject of the acquisition, while the acquisition date listed is the exact date in which the acquisition completes. The value of each acquisition is usually the one listed at the time of the announcement. If the value of an acquisition is not listed, then it is undisclosed.
Notes a This figure by The Alacra Store includes acquisitions by companies that are eventually acquired by HP. The actual number of acquisitions included in this list is 96. b The acquisitions are ordered by acquisition dates. If the acquisition date is not available, then the acquisition is ordered by agreement dates.
Footnotes
References "Mergers & Acquisitions Announcements". Hewlett-Packard. Retrieved October 4, 2008. "Acquisitions and Divestitures". HP Alumni Association. Retrieved October 4, 2008. "Hewlett-Packard Company Mergers and Acquisitions". The Alacra Store. Retrieved October 22, 2008.
