HP is set to announce it will split into two firms, one for devices and the other for enterprise services, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The paper reports the breakup will lead to the formation of two separate companies: one for computers and printers, and one for enterprise services.
According to Reuters, HP has been under pressure from investors to spin-off its PC and printer division for some time to focus its efforts on its more profitable business arm.
Three years ago, when Leo Apotheker was in his short-lived role as CEO of HP, the company announced it would spin-off its Personal Systems Group and focus on services. However, Apotheker’s successor Meg Whitman backtracked on those plans once she took over the firm.
If the latest rumours are correct, Whitman has now given in to pressure to divide the firm.
Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst told the news agency: “PCs and printing remain in long-term secular decline, and while HP has managed that business well, the challenges for that portion of the split company will only grow as the demand continues to erode, and commoditisation forces prices down further.”
According to the Wall Street Journal’s sources, Meg Whitman will become CEO of the enterprise company and chairman of the PC and printer company.
Dion Weisler, an executive in the printer and computer arm of the firm, will become that company’s CEO. Patricia Russo, currently the lead independent director of HP, will become the enterprise company’s chairman.
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