Words to Note: HP Autonomy Disastrous Deal
July 21, 2015
I tucked this into my “Quotes” file. The source is Courthouse News Service and a story named “Pensioners Get $100M for HP’s Takeover Flop.” I lingered for a moment on the word “flop” but plunged into the write with modest expectations.
Here’s the sentence that I highlighted with my Japanese style wide tip Sharpie:
A federal judge tentatively approved a $100 million settlement between a Dutch pension fund and Hewlett-Packard over its disastrous $10.3 billion purchase of Autonomy Corp.
The word “flop” was interesting but the use of the word “disastrous” is a reminder of what happens when MBAs catch spreadsheet fever and buy search-centric companies.
I also highlighted this statement:
HP ended up taking an $8.8 billion hit on the botched acquisition and blamed former Autonomy executives for misrepresenting its revenue projections two years before the deal.
What happens when spreadsheet fever mingles with sales oriented folks suffering from drinking too much of their own Kool-Aid? Answer: An opportunity to spend quality time with attorneys. Definitely a summer bummer.
Stephen E Arnold, July 21, 2015
Comments
One Response to “Words to Note: HP Autonomy Disastrous Deal”
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
[…] here’s something interesting that has arisen from HP’s “disastrous” $11 billion acquisition of Autonomy: check out this three-minute YouTube video: “See What You […]