Carly Fiorina, CEO of HP, said:
"We are gratified that HP shareowners recognise the compelling strategic and economic benefits of the merger and that a decisive majority of shares not affiliated with the Hewlett and Packard families and foundations appear to have been voted in favour of this transaction.”
"We look forward to Compaq's shareowner vote tomorrow and the official certification, and we expect to complete the merger soon after the vote is certified - allowing us to quickly begin execution of the comprehensive integration plans we have been preparing for many months.”
Walter Hewlett, son of the company’s co-founder and Fiorina’s most vocal critic, yesterday refused to concede victory, describing the results as “too close to call”. In a final plea before voting began, he warned sharholders against making a “$25 billion mistake.”
In fact, the share price has dropped the value of the deal to around $21 billion, $4 billion less than it would have been if it had completed in September 2001. HP shares fell again upon the company’s victory declaration.
Even if the vote is confirmed as a victory for Fiorina, her biggest challenge could be integrating two very different companies. Shareholder votes aside, CNet news notes that, “depending on whose surveys you believe, anywhere from one-third to two-thirds of HP workers oppose the deal. Motivating those workers will be a difficult but critical task.”