• This is the right decision and keeps value in the traditional channel.
• HP is the best firm to leverage the PC business.
• Dell will be the least to benefit from this decision.  
• The margins for the PSG group may be under pressure, and at a 5.7% operating margin are the lowest operating margin business segment at the company. But the risk of removing it from HP's business model was too significant.
• If spun off, the impact on channel partners would have been significant:
• Costs would have been high for the channel partners due to the linking of PC/Printer/Enterprise Storage, Servers, and Networking (ESSN); and 
• The spinoff would have added costs to channel partners, damaged the relationship and caused an imbalance for the channel partners who typically balance across PCs and Servers
• Ignoring the one-time charges of $1.5B and $1B annually, HP benefits due to the PC unit's integration into its overall business model.
• HP's low pricing is one of its strengths in the server business. At a similar cost structure the operating margins of HP are lower, which means the channel partners are also operating on low margins. So for a channel partner to make money from an HP relationship, they need the breath of products across printers, desktops, laptops etc.
• HP still sells more PCs than any other vendor, shipping 16.2 million PCs last quarter, which equates to 17 percent of the market.
• Meg Whitman displayed strong leadership by making such an important decision quickly. This fills the vacuum in HP leadership and provides confidence to the market and Wall Street.
• We believe this CEO change is positive and hopefully is an indication of how Ms. Whitman will manage quickly, decisively, and clearly.
• The key now is for HP to continue showing strategic vision to minimize the damage that it caused with uncertainty for its customers, channel partners, and investors.

About Martin Wolf  

Based in Silicon Valley, Martin Wolf is a leading middle market M&A Advisory focused on companies with services-based business models. Since 1997, our team has completed more than 100 transactions in six countries. We are a five-year member of the Merrill Lynch PS Referral Network, and were selected as ICICI Bank's (India's leading private bank) exclusive strategic partner for acquiring U.S. IT companies. For more information, visit www.martinwolf.com.

September 30, 2011

SPS, a leading Unified Communications Provider, announced that Court Square Partners has made an investment in the company. Martin Wolf advised SPS in this transaction. SPS is a premier unified communication services integrator, ranked 131 on the 2011 VAR 500 list with 2010 sales of $143 million. Court Square is a $4B+ New York-based PE Group, with more than 150 lifetime investments.  

Please click here to view the announcement. 

September 20, 2011  

Accel-KKR, a technology-focused private equity investment firm, announced that it had taken a majority stake in Infinisource. Infinisource is a leading benefits administration technology and services company. Martin Wolf advised the seller in this transaction.  

Please click here to read more.  

March 11, 2011

SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC) announced that it had acquired Glastonbury, Connecticut-based BenefitsXML. BenefitsXML is a leading provider of enterprise software and SAAS solutions for employee benefit service providers. Martin Wolf advised the seller in this transaction.  

Please click here to read more.

MartinWolf.Com 

_________________ 

Quote of the Day

"The secret of business is to know something that nobody else knows."

- Aristotle Onassis     

_________________