PALO ALTO, Calif.—Hewlett-Packard Co. said its shareholders have approved the proposed merger with Compaq Computer Corp., according to the preliminary tally of votes taken March 19.
According to the preliminary findings, recorded by an independent firm, HP shareholders voted in favor of the merger by a margin of approximately 45 million shares, with the “for” vote totaling 837.9 million and the “against” vote totaling 792.6 million.
“We are gratified the preliminary vote tally validates that HP shareowners voted the majority of their shares in support of the merger,” said Carly Fiorina, HP’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We are eager to put this difficult period behind us and look forward to doing business as the new HP.”
Walter Hewlett, who filed suit against HP accusing the company of unfairly garnering votes in favor of the merger, will have an opportunity to challenge the count, in which case both HP and Compaq will review voter results—a process HP expects to take about one week. The two parties go to court in Delaware Tuesday, April 23.
