HP completes the $12 billion takeover of the biggest UK software concern, Autonomy-- touchstone of the "strategic transformation" towards enterprise software costing ex-CEO Leo Apotheker his job last month.
The purchase announcement and excessive costs involved caused HP stock prices (and reputation) to plummet. Not that the decisions to close down the webOS unit and dumping its PC unit as part of the Great Garage Sale helped much, mind.
Even through Apotheker got replaced, analysts say it would have been impossible for HP get out of the Autonomy deal due to British takeover rules.
Cambridge-based Autonomy provides data analytics, cloud, industry and workflow management software to over 25000 clients worldwide. It will remain as a separate business unit under the leadership of CEO and founder Mike Lynch (reporting to HP CEO Meg Whitman).
