HP said on Aug. 19 that it would sell or spin off its PC division. The division leads all competitors in market share, but it’s a low-margin field without substantial growth potential, officials and industry experts explained at the time.
As part of the company’s reorganization, HP also acquired unstructured data giant Autonomy for $10.3 billion, and cancelled its widely advertised WebOS mobile devices. The resulting market confusion led to CEO Léo Apotheker being forced out, with former eBay leader and political candidate Meg Whitman replacing him, and Goldman Sachs being retained to defend against actions by activist investors.
