Hewlett-Packard Clearance To Acquire Compaq

Issued 28 February 2002/018

Hewlett-Packard Receives Commerce Commission Clearance To Acquire Compaq Computer Corporation

The Commerce Commission today cleared the merger of Hewlett-Packard and Compaq in New Zealand.

Commerce Commission Chair John Belgrave said the Commission is satisfied that the proposed acquisition would not substantially lessen competition in any market.

The details of the Commission's decision will be available shortly from the Commission's website, http://www.comcom.govt.nz.

Background Hewlett-Packard and Compaq proposed to merge in the United States in an agreement dated 4 September 2001. Under the terms of that transaction, it is proposed that Compaq be merged with a newly formed subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard, thus becoming a wholly owned Hewlett-Packard subsidiary.

Hewlett-Packard and Compaq have a number of New Zealand interconnected bodies corporate including Hewlett-Packard NZ Limited, Compaq Financial Services (New Zealand) Limited and Compaq Computer New Zealand. The terms of the merger agreement in New Zealand have not yet been finalised.

Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1939 and incorporated in 1947 in the State of California. Its corporate headquarters are in Palo Alto, California. It operates in more than 120 countries. More than half of it's revenue is derived from business outside the US. Hewlett-Packard is a global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services for businesses and the home.

Compaq was founded in 1982. Compaq is a global provider of computing products and services, and has its corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas.

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