HP Splits Again: HPE to Spin-Merge with Micro Focus for $8.8B

By: Azhar Azam

Meg Whitman - Image Credit: Getty/Jewel Samad/Saloon

Inside the 12-months of HP splitting up into two-public industries after quarters of falling revenue: HPE to spin-off and merge its software business with UK-based Micro Focus for $8.8 billion transaction. Micro Focus also confirmed the intent to merge with HPE earlier this month.

In October last year, the Board of Directors approved the separation by means of a pro rate distribution into: HP Inc., the larger of the two, to retain logo and focus on PCs and Printers including 3D Printing business while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) on Data Storage and Cloud Computing Networks.

The deal would fetch HP a cash payment of $2.5 billion and HPE shareholders to own 50.1% of the new company, Fortune said. This move comes within the four months of HPE announcement to sell out its IT Services unit to Virginia-based Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) for $8.5 billion.

Both the deals are expected to pull down Hewlett Packard Enterprise business to meager $28 billion, down from $52 billion in the last fiscal year, Salon reported.

In a bid to “smaller is better than to fade away”, Meg Whitman (CEO-HPE) said “I think we are making the right choices. Once the ES-CSC and Software-Micro Focus transactions are complete, HPE will be fast growing, higher-margin, and stronger free cash flow company, well positioned for the future.”

HPE is now more focused to shore up its hardware business as last year; it acquired Aruba Networks for $3 billion, the second largest Wi-Fi networks provider after Cisco. Last month, it also announced to purchase Silicon Graphics for $275 million, a servers and storage networks seller.

While HPE is converging on getting smaller, its major rival “Dell”; is expanding its processing hardware business. Michael Dell’s Texas tech company finalizes $60 billion deal to acquire EMC group, termed to be the largest technology-merger.

Whitman thinks otherwise. “The next five years is going to belong to the nimble, the fast and the focused", Whitman told CNBC. “So the contrast with Dell could not be more stark. They are bigger, we are getting smaller.”

HP Inc., announced in a press release on September 12, a definitive agreement to acquire Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s printer business for a deal valued at $1.05 billion. The acquisition intends to accelerate disruption of $55 billion copier segment and aims to reinvent and replace service-intensive copiers with superior multifunction printing, HP added.

Samsung earned revenue of 2-trillion won ($1.8 billion) in 2015 from printing business with 6,000 employees, a production base in China as well as more than 50 sales offices globally. However the agreement will allow Samsung to source printers from HP and market in Korea under Samsung brand.

This value is just a fraction of HP Inc.’s printing business of $21.2 billion in 2015 (down from $23.2 billion in 2014) but talking with the Fortune, Dion Weisler (CEO-HP Inc.) hoped that “the deal would help HP better compete in the copy machine market and help off-set declining sale of printers”.

HP Inc. Fiscal 2015 Full Year Results
The net revenue of HP Inc. declined by nearly 7%; to $107.1 billion in 2015 from $115.1 billion in 2014. The revenue by segment on year-over-year was (ended on October 31):

Personal Systems
Notebooks ($17.2 billion; down from $17.5 billion)
Desktops ($10.9 billion; down from $13.2 billion)
Workstations ($2.0 billion; down from $2.2 billion)
Other ($1.2 billion; down from $1.3 billion)

Printing
Supplies ($13.9 billion; down from $14.9 billion)
Commercial Hardware ($5.3 billion; down from $5.9 billion)
Consumer Hardware ($1.8 billion; down from $2.3 billion)

Enterprise Group
Industry Standard Servers ($13.4 billion; up from $12.4 billion)
Technology Services ($7.6 billion; down from $8.3 billion)
Storage ($3.1 billion; down from $3.3 billion)
Networking ($2.8 billion; down from $2.6 billion)
Business Critical Systems ($807 million; down from $929 million)

Enterprise Services
Infrastructure Technology Outsourcing ($12.1 billion; down from 14.0 billion)
Application and Business Services ($7.7 billion; down from 8.3 billion)

Others
Software ($3.4 billion; down from $3.7 billion)
HP Financial Services ($3.2 billion; down from $3.5 billion)
Corporate Investments ($27 million; down from $302 million)

Muslims' Fiasco

By: Azhar Azam

The mammoth number of around 1.6 billion Muslims around the world with majority in more than 50-countries and holding significant reserves in shape of both gold and foreign exchange seems to have no impact whatsoever on the immaculate fundamental ideology and teachings of the religion they follow.

For decades, they are undergoing endless mayhems and oppressions with limitless endurance by their callous rulers and pitiless western lords. Skirmish to take control, civil wars, internal violence, carpet bombardments, insurgencies or military assaults; each and every event is supposed to occur in Muslim controlled territories.

Then suffering terrible carnage in the regions where they are in minority; burnt alive, raped and brutal killings of kids, women, and men by the people they have been living along for years, are yet to lift their sagacity in the name of liberalism, democracy, peace and modesty.

The scenario within the Muslims countries themselves is scary too. Enjoying “Picnic” sitting alongside the storming river of their own blood, they ensure the flow must not ease down and actively contribute to supply human blood spelled through sectarian killings, ethnic divisions, Arab and non-Arab classifications and securing own geographical boundaries.

We appear to be a herd of goats escaping from wolf till one of us is victimized and then watching the wolf’s feast standing away not comprehending that it would be the other’s turn next time.

After World War-II, all today’s military and economic powerhouses first made their defense invincible before dashing onto the economic zone. They realized in no time the formidable consequences of battling each other, sectarian hazardousness and value of life.

Reaching pinnacle of deterrence followed by economic and technological revolutions just by building their nations on social, ethical grounds where justice and education are predominant dynamics in 40 to 50 years, they are now on the battle field of economy. In doing so, they are now searching for their new markets for both the military and technological products.

Where all are perished the blocks of World War-II? They are united, poised and respect each other on the basis of what we have been taught 1400 years ago.

9/11 exists in United States but shapes coalition forces (ISAF) including Germany, France, Italy, Australia, United Kingdom and many others to execute self-convicted Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. Brazenly, almost all of the Muslim countries supported them openly and if someone didn’t, opted to hush without uttering a word of defiance.

Why? Why didn’t the intellectuals of US-coalition countries warned their rulers to stay away from the war on terror never hurled over them by that time. Instead, they not only supported but vigorously partaken in this historic Muslims’ slay without any economic and financial provisos. How could they shirk it as it was a part of one common “Capitalistic and Economic Strategy” in the name of “War on Terror”!

Iran-Iraq War, Russia intrusion in Afghanistan, then 9/11 followed by Iraq seizure of Kuwait, the riots in Syria, Libya and Egypt, Bahrain Crisis and Saudi-Iran-backed Yemen conflict; shouldn’t be assessed these all happening are by default or by design?

A disastrous episode pays off prolific returns as all the economic, military & technological powers not only consume obsolete arms and ammunition ‘Arms’ but also test the efficacy of contemporary weapons on Muslims and their soils. Millions of innocent people killed, wounded, hundreds of thousands of kids lost their father, mother or both, mass numbers of modest women rapped and countless homes destroyed irrespective of sect, caste and religion.

The alleged planned anarchy fueled terrorism by pushing people in the Muslim countries en-route of violence, rebel and radical approach. Arms, weapons and fighter jets worth billions exported worldwide and smuggled to the rebellions through international black market or hidden sources.

Now neither of the oppressors needs to land their troops or carry out much of air strikes to secure their national interests. It is the Muslims rulers and rebels serving their objective to shatter each other by the weapons bought from the west.

Consequently, on one side, arch rivals Muslims are ad-infinitum flogged and on the other side; western economy find a rich market to exports of weapons, pharmaceuticals products, machineries, reconstruction articles etc.

You must doubt the sane of the person who link all these actions, activities and attacks with! Chessed up doggedly, it smells soundly a “War on Muslims” to initially engage them in conflicts and eventually to suck up their potency to meet challenges; making them the pawns.

Indian oppression in Kashmir, Russian brutality in Chechnya, Israeli atrocities on Palestinians, or US-led wars on terror; in any case, Muslims are the terrorists and Christian, Jews, Hindus, and Communists are guiltless!

Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim country with highly trained ground, air and marine troops, reasonable capability to produce weapons within the country and preeminent spy agency ISI, single-handedly conducting CIA, Mossad, RAW, MI6 and other notable counterparts. Despite feeble financial outlay and extraordinary geo-political and regional issues, Pakistan armed forces have repeatedly shown its capability to knob the internal and external threats.

Time and again, Pakistan armed forces have come across huge defense challenges yet surfaced successfully. Their inputs are incredible on all fronts; guarding national boundaries, curbing terrorism, and sorting out externally financed puppets including TTP, BLA, ransom and target killers. Even on the political, economic, and foreign façades, they have strongly presented the case of Pakistan.

Since independence in 1947, Pakistan has enriched in the sole area, defense and military capability and technology. Yet some “so-called intellectuals” criticize on the budgets, expenditures and role of Pakistan Army.

Let me ask one question from such morons, did any of the true intellectuals in United States, United Kingdom/Britain, France, Germany, China and others ever carped on their security forces? Or even if some of them did, how much crowd they pulled?

Never! Sovereignty cannot be compromised on such ‘Dupe Intellectuals’! Whenever a country features a bedlam, terrorist attack, or post-border intervention; these soldiers protect our dominion, honor, assets, and siblings. I have one word for those intellectuals – “Shut-up”!

They read, explore, and communicate to sell their thoughts for money and show off their knowledge and grip on history. Studying history is very vital to create history but if someone indulges in corruption, crime or advocating compromising national interests, should we surf history to spot these traitors?

These are some of the general factors of Muslims disgrace. The rulers somewhere are virtuous and economies affluent but not focusing on evolving a professionally trained armed forces. Similarly, a few have somehow developed a military might but the political mafias are propping up corruption, social inequalities and deny access to justice to relish personal interests. These evils have also triggered terrorism in the society slowly with outrageous upshots.

All the internal, external menaces and sectarian, ethnic and regional differences could only be washed out only if all the Muslim countries not just discourage provoking extremism but also ensure equality, justice in society and off course, reinforce armed forces so that they may not seek support of other countries at the time of pandemonium.