Computer giant Hewlett Packard and SmartPhone producer Palm have just jointly announced that HP is buying Palm for $1.2 billion which equates to $5.70 a share.
HP is claiming that Palm’s operating system will help them compete in the fiercely competitive mobile phone business.
“The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets” said HP.
“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP.
“And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”
Palm is also delighted with the deal.
“We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS,” said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm.
“We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners.”
Jon Rubinstein, who previously worked for Apple, is expected to stay with the company after the deal finalises at the end of July.
Palm has been struggling to make it in an industry dominated by the likes of Apple’s iPhone and Rim’s Blackberry, as well as the newer SmartPhones featuring Google’s Android operating system, and yet Palm’s SmartPhones generated some very positive reviews but a good enough phone obviously wasn’t good enough.
The deal with HP really is welcome news for Palm and they can hardly hide their excitement. “In case you didn’t hear, we just announced a merger with a little shop down the street called HP” wrote Jon Zilber on a Palm blog.
“That little shop happens to be the world’s largest technology company, and certainly one of the most revered companies in all of tech-land. Can you say “webOS acceleration”?
“We’re pretty excited, and pleased we surprised the world again” said Zilber.
Nice to hear someone’s happy.
