All kinds of trouble is breaking loose at HP. The company has a new CEO -- its second in the last year -- and its stock price is plummeting. HP’s PC division is in shambles, and might soon be spun off to make the parent company more financially sound. The HP TouchPad has been discontinued, and WebOS is being all but ignored. To say that HP itself might be in trouble would be an understatement. But for potential suitors, HP’s troubles are turning out to be a good thing. Not only does the company’s declining stock price make it cheaper to acquire the firm, but shareholder complaints about the stock seem to indicate that if such a deal were offered, the PC giant would be more likely to accept a deal than ever before. Talk of an HP acquisition first cropped up recently when analysts, and then a report from Bloomberg suggested Oracle was at least considering acquiring HP. Neither firm has confirmed those details, of course, but the idea of such an acquisition is intriguing, to say the least. Here’s a look at some of the companies that could be strong contenders to acquire HP. And if they can’t buy HP outright, some of the following firms could potentially acquire one of HP’s divisions, like the PC business.
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Oracle First and foremost, Oracle seems like the ideal candidate to acquire HP. Not only does the company have the cash and shareholder value to pull off such a deal, but buying HP could prove to be the right synergy for the firm. Will HP accept such a deal? It’s tough to say. But for Oracle, it’s worth a shot.
Acer Although Acer wouldn’t be able to acquire HP outright, the company might want to buy HP’s PC business. Acer’s PC market share is slipping even as executives have said they want to move the company up the ranks. HP’s operation give the company a dominant position in the marketplace.
Dell Dell has wanted to beat out HP in the PC business for years now. But so far, the company hasn’t been able to do it. However, if it can find a way to muster the cash and stock to acquire HP’s PC business, it could finally take the lead in that market that it has wanted for so long. Dell couldn’t acquire HP outright, but it could take on its PC business. So, why not?
Microsoft This might come as a surprise, but if Microsoft decided to acquire HP, it might just prove to be a good idea. However, if Microsoft wants to play the smart move, it should stay away from HP’s PC business. The fact is, Microsoft has been performing well over the years because it hasn’t 1gotten into the PC market. And doing so now would be a mistake. But acquiring HP’s lucrative enterprise solutions to bolster its own services would be a good idea on Microsoft’s part.
Intel Some rumors have cropped up lately, suggesting Intel would consider acquiring HP’s PC business. Although that hasn’t been confirmed, it’s compelling, to say the least. Intel is slowly but surely trying to wield influence over the PC business with its Ultrabooks PC spec. And the company seemingly wants to branch out from its comfort zone. What better way to do that than with the help of HP’s PC business? With that division in tow, Intel could finally determine its own fate in the computer market.
Google Although Microsoft probably shouldn’t buy HP outright, and should only focus its efforts on the company’s enterprise solutions, Google might want to consider acquiring all of HP. After all, if it gets the company’s PC business, it can work on getting Chromebooks out to consumers and enterprise users much more quickly And HP’s enterprise software and solutions operations seem to fall in line with the search giant’s future plans. Believe it or not, an HP acquisition by Google makes some sense.
Samsung Samsung is slowly but surely trying to become like Apple in the tech space. The company has tablets that offer unique designs, smartphones that nearly match the value proposition of the iPhone, and Chromebooks that try to compete on the same level as the MacBook Air. The only problem is, Chromebooks aren’t a good answer to Apple’s Macs. With HP’s PC division, however, Samsung could change its luck in the computing space and make it clear that it really does want to take out Apple.
Lenovo The issue with Lenovo right now is that as its business grows, it will be stuck behind Dell and HP for years to come. The company just doesn’t offer up enough value to customers to catch those two competitors. However, if it finds a way to acquire HP’s PC business, all that could change. Will it be difficult? Sure. Is it a long-shot? Probably. But at this point, it’s unarguably a smart move for Lenovo.
IBM Like Oracle, IBM is one of the few companies in this roundup that has the ability to acquire HP outright. The firm, which has its hands in, well, just about everything, could use HP in several ways. HP could help bolster its enterprise services, and the PC business could help it appeal more to corporate users. However, in order for that to happen, IBM would be smart to spin off HP’s PC business, and operate it as a separate company that it could eventually sell to the top bidder at a profit.
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