SAN FRANCISCO — Hewlett-Packard Co. has decided against spinning off or selling its PC division — a plan first brought to light in August by the technology conglomerate’s now former chief executive Leo Apotheker.
HP said on Thursday that it reached its decision after evaluating the strategic, financial and operational impact of spinning off the business unit, which is the world’s biggest manufacturer of desktop and notebook computers for consumers and businesses.
The unit supplies a third of HP’s revenue, and PCs are an area where the company is a market leader. But it is HP’s least profitable division, and its disposal was meant to be part of Apotheker’s plan to transform the Silicon Valley stalwart into a twin of East Coast rival IBM Corp.: a company focused on businesses, rather than both businesses and consumers.
HP’s new CEO, Meg Whitman, said that keeping the unit within the company is right for HP, its customers, shareholders and business partners.
Deciding what to do with the PC unit has been one of the biggest challenges for Whitman, a former head of online marketplace operator eBay Inc. who joined Palo Alto-based HP in September after Apotheker was fired.
A month before her appointment as CEO, Apothe ker said the PC business would go up for sale in a badly blundered announcement that hastened his demise. At that time, HP also said it would exit the tablet-computer and smartphone business.
