July 25th, 2006
HP to acquire Mercury
As rumored last month, HP is indeed interested in Mercury Interactive, and pulled the trigger today. The price tag–a cash tender offer for $52.00 per share, or approximately $4.5 billion. From the press release:
“Today, we are combining two market-leading businesses to create the most powerful management software portfolio in the industry,” said Mark Hurd, HP chief executive officer and president. ”Together, they will help customers cut their IT costs, speed the delivery of new services and drive profitable growth at HP. We expect this important acquisition to deliver significant value for our shareholders.”
Combining HP’s OpenView management platform with Mercury’s application management and delivery products is a logical fit. EMC was rumored to be looking to acquire Mercury, but instead spent its money on RSA Security last month. The official announcement and conference calls with the players to follow…
Dan Farber, editor-in-chief of CNET News.com, has more than 20 years of experience as an editor and journalist covering technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
