Rumor: Is Oracle planning a takeover of HP?

By Jeff Hughes August 22, 2011

Hewlett-Packard’s 20-percent nose-dive in stock price last week has stirred up rumors that Oracle may be considering moving in.

The rumors seem to stem from a New York Post article published over the weekend. The Post says HP’s 10 billion dollar decision to buy UK software company Autonomy “puts the world’s largest tech company in a vulnerable position and may make it an Oracle takeover target”.

An unnamed source told the Post Oracle’s move would be inevitable if the stock continues its decent, and that Larry Ellison and former HP CEO Mark Hurd are “ready to pounce”. The source pointed out that if HP’s success in spinning its PC business would make Oracle’s takeover all the more easier. After moving in, Oracle would sell of the profitable HP printer business.

“Perhaps in three years [the Autonomy acquisition] will turn out to be a smart acquisition. But the reality is in nine months HP will likely be defending itself in an Oracle fight,” the source said.

Though it may just be speculation rather than insider knowledge, Wells Fargo analyst Jayson Maynard told Forbes that the deal could be a possibility.

Maynard said that the takeover would make sense given HP’s enterprise business, “it would add significant account coverage, server and storage hardware depth, unique software assets (Mercury, Open View, Opsware etc.), a better competitive position against IBM, and call options in product areas like networking and IT services.”

However Maynard believes that if the deal were to take place it would take longer than the Post’s source says. Given the animosity between HP and Oracle, it would most likely be a lengthy hostile takeover.

Editors' Recommendations

HP just hatched its $7-a-month subscription plan for printers

Former Digital Trends Contributor

I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.

Computing

Best GPU deals: MSI, XFX, EVGA

An AMD graphics card in an external GPU enclosure.

If you want to game on a PC with the highest graphical settings, then you're likely looking at grabbing some of the highest-end GPUs like the RTX 40-series cards, which are well-known for being more expensive than any generation before. That said, if you're building a new PC from scratch, you can take advantage of some savings by grabbing parts individually at a discount, which is why we've rounded up our favorite GPU deals below to save you a little extra. While you're at it, be sure to check out these SSD deals and RAM deals, both of which are important for gaming, and if you don't really want to build a PC from scratch, check out these gaming PC deals instead.
XFX SPEEDSTER SWFT210 AMD Radeon RX 6600 Core 8GB GDDR6 -- $210, was $280

XFX is a pretty well-known brand that makes AMD Radeon GPUs, so you're getting a good-quality device right out of the gate. It has an impressive 8GB GDDR6, at least for this price bracket, and will give you a bit longer life out of it when games start using up a lot more VRAM, even at lower graphical settings. While the base clock runs at 2.0 GHz, the boosted clock speed is 2.5 GHz which is pretty good, and the whole thing is unlocked, so you could theoretically boost it higher if you have the right cooling. This RTX 6600 can support resolutions up to 8K, but really, this is an ideal 1080p gaming GPU.

Mobile

Best Verizon Fios new customer deals: Get 2GB/s internet in your home

Fios TV Package

A great home internet connection is almost a necessity these days, and whether you plan to surf the web lightly or to soak up all of the content the best live TV streaming services have to offer, Verizon Fios likely has the right service plan for you. Verizon Fios, in fact, offers some of the fastest internet connection speeds around, yet still makes for some of the best home internet deals we’ve seen, especially for new customers. It’s a service you’ll likely need whether you’ve been shopping some of the best TV deals, best laptop deals, best phone deals, or best tablet deals, or whether you already have a variety of devices that need fast internet access around the house. We’ve rounded up all of the best Verizon Fios new customer deals below, so read onward for all of the information you’ll need in order to save.
2 Gigabit Verizon Fios connection -- $85 per month + free extras
One of the fastest internet speeds you can get, and the fastest speed that Verizon offers, this is the sort of subscription you should grab if all the members of your family are essentially watching 4K content all the time. It's also great for those who want to host their own media server to share with friends or family while not impacting anybody else in the home. You also get a lot of great freebies included here, such as the choice of either a $400 savings on Samsung home appliances or a free Nintendo Switch, which is worth $300 and hundreds of hours of entertaining moments. A $100 Verizon gift card is also included. On top of all of that, you're getting a router rental and four-year price guarantee included.

1 Gigabit Verizon Fios connection -- $65 per month + free extras
If the super-fast speeds aren't necessarily needed, especially if you're in a smaller household without too many folks watching content, then the 1 Gigabit version is the way to go. It is $20 cheaper, so it's a lot of money that you're saving over the course of the year, and you still get quite a few extra benefits, even at this level. Just like the 2 Gigabit plan you'll have your choice of a free Nintendo Switch or $400 worth of savings on Samsung home appliances with this plan. A $100 Verizon gift card is also included.

Computing

Best Surface Laptop and Surface Pro deals: From $523

Microsoft Surface Go 3 sitting on table.

If you like the idea of the MacBook Air when it comes to a thin and light laptop that's still quite powerful, then you'll be happy to know that the Microsoft Surface lineup of laptops is an excellent alternative. Even though the newer Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 aren't quite out yet, there are a lot of great Microsoft Surface deals that compete with MacBook deals. To that end, we've rounded up some of our favorite deals for the Surface below, but if these don't really tickly your fancy, be sure to check these laptop deals and 2-in-1 laptop deals as well.
Microsoft Surface Go 3 -- $523, was $550

Functioning as a 2-in-1 laptop that can switch between tablet mode and laptop mode, the Microsoft Surface Go 3 won't have trouble dealing with basic tasks as it's equipped with the Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y processor and 8GB of RAM. The 10.5-inch touchscreen with 1920 x 1080 resolution is bright and colorful, and its 128GB SSD is more than enough for your documents. The Microsoft Surface Go 3 ships with Windows 11 Home in Mode, so you can start using it as soon as you unbox it. The device also promises up to 11 hours of battery life before requiring a recharge.