The board of directors of Hewlett-Packard approved the previously announced separation of its businesses into two independent companies.
The company expected to complete the separation into Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company and HP Inc on November 1, 2015.
Hewlett Packard Enterprises will be composed of the corporate service, software, and financial services businesses of Hewlett-Packard. It will focus on providing cutting-edge technology solutions needed by enterprises to optimize their traditional IT and build a secure, cloud-enabled, and mobile-ready infrastructure.
Hewlett-Packard, which will be renamed HP Inc will own and operated the company’s printing and personal systems businesses. It will continue to trade under the ticker HPQ.
Hewlett-Packard stock distribution
According to Hewlett-Packard, its stockholders will have ownerships interests in Hewlett Packard Enterprises and HP Inc following the separation.
The shareholders of Hewlett-Packard will receive one HPE share for every Hewlett-Packard share held as of October 21. The tax-free distribution will be on a pro-rata basis, according to the company. It will not issue fractional shares of HPE. Stockholders will receive cash instead of fractional shares.
Hewlett Packard Enterprises is expected to begin “when issued” trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker “HPE WI” on October 19 until the distribution date. Its regular trading will start on November 2 under the ticker HPE.
Separation will accelerate Hewlett-Packard turnaround strategy
In a statement, Meg Whitman, Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard said, “This separation will enable us to accelerate the turnaround we began four years ago. The separation will also present better choices for investors by creating two distinct and attractive investment profiles.”
She added HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprises as independent companies can drive more focused business strategies, innovation roadmaps and go-to-market models. The companies will also provide better choices for investors by creating two distinct and attractive investment profiles.
The separation and distribution is still subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of a favorable IRS ruling and opinions of HP’s tax advisors regarding certain U.S. federal income tax matters and the effectiveness of the Form 10.
The shares of Hewlett-Packard are trading around $25.16 a piece, down by 1.76% at the time of this writing around 1:35 in the afternoon in New York.
