Free Republic

<p>Dissident board member claims execs pressured Deutsche Bank to tip the balance in favor of the deal.</p> <p>NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Walter Hewlett, the dissident Hewlett-Packard director who led the proxy challenge against its proposed purchase of Compaq Computer, has taken his fight to the courthouse, hoping to invalidate last week's shareholder vote.</p>

(Agencies) Hewlett Packard chairwoman and chief executive Carly Fiorina quickly claimed victory Tuesday in her company's bitter proxy battle to buy Compaq Computer Corp., saying a preliminary estimate of shareholder votes shows enough support to approve the merger. "It appears that our shareholders made a choice today, not only to embrace change, but to lead it," Fiorina said after the two-hour meeting. "We think we have a slim but sufficient margin, and we think it's important to let people know that." Fiorina spoke at the conclusion of a meeting of more than 1,000 Hewlett-Packard Co. shareholders who crowded into a...

Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s chairman and chief executive officer, claimed victory Tuesday in her company's six-month battle to buy Compaq Computer Corp. A preliminary estimate showed the merger winning approval, she said. "We are gratified that H-P shareowners recognize the compelling strategic and economic benefits of the merger and that a decisive majority of shares not affiliated with the Hewlett and Packard families and foundations appear to have been voted in favor of this transaction," Fiorina said at a news conference. Members of the Hewlett and Packard families had been strongly opposed the proposed $20.5 billion deal to acquire Houston-based...

Like political candidates on election eve, Hewlett-Packard Co. chief Carly Fiorina and dissident HP director Walter Hewlett hit the phones Monday with last-minute pitches on HP's $21 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp. With HP's shareholder vote on the deal today shaping up as one of the closest corporate elections ever, the company and Hewlett both claimed to have momentum over the other, but would not publicly predict victory. Fiorina, Hewlett and Compaq CEO Michael Capellas lobbied big investors who might not have made up their minds about what would be the computer industry's biggest merger ever. "This company has...