H-P and Compaq merge to create $87 b company

According to an HP release, a definitive merger agreement to create an $87 billion global technology leader. The new HP will offer the industry's most complete set of IT products and services for both businesses and consumers, with a commitment to serving customers with open systems and architectures.

The combined company will have #1 worldwide revenue positions in servers, access devices (PCs and hand-helds) and imaging and printing, as well as leading revenue positions in IT services, storage and management software. The merger is expected to generate cost synergies reaching approximately $2.5 billion annually and drive a significantly improved cost structure. Based on both companies' last four reported fiscal quarters, the new HP would have approximate pro forma assets of $56.4 billion, annual revenues of $87.4 billion and annual operating earnings of $3.9 billion. It would also have operations in more than 160 countries and over 145,000 employees