A giant transaction of $25 billion which concerns Sophia the Compaq Computer Cntre Technique Europe, 300 people, focused on the telecom activity.
This is a real thunderstruck for the computer industry which happened last night: a press release has announced that Compaq has been taken over by another American company, Hewlett-Packard (HP). The transaction, which costs $25 billion, will be done by share exchange. During the closure of American marketplaces (on Friday night, as Monday was a Labour Day), Compaq’s securities experienced a bonus of 18% in the exchange. The operation should end during the first six months of 2002.
The news of a takeover which redefines the world computer situation has been associated to the furious war of prices which is happening on the market of PCs and servers, with a world recession on the market of computer sciences as background. The new entity, which associates Compaq, number 2 and HP, number 3 of PC becomes the largest PC manufacturer in the world. Bigger than Dell, which had stolen the first place on the market of servers from Compaq a little time ago and which is the leader on the market of PCs. The new group has generated a turnover of $87 billion, near the giant IBM ($88 billion in 2000). It has been précised that Carly Fiorina, who has been at the head of HP for two years, will be the CEO of the new group, and Michael capellas, the CEO of Compaq will be director.
As far as consequences on the Riviera are concerned, if HP is not very present on the French Riviera, Compaq benefits from a strong setting up (around 300 people) on the site of Sophia Antipolis. By taking over Digital, the American manufacturer was at the head of Digital Sophia three years ago. This company was only composed of more than 300 people while they have reached one thousand in the past. The Compaq Computer Centre Technique Europe, 80% focused on the telecom activity, has kept the 300 employees with around one hundred contractual workers. Of course, it’s impossible to know the consequences such a giant merger should have on the site of Sophia Antipolis.