It was in the month of August, after HP’s WebOS disaster that, under then CEO Leo Apotheker announced it’s plans to spin off it’s PC unit. Now, Leo Apotheker has been ousted and HP director Meg Whitman has taken his place. Whitman is also a former eBay Inc CEO.
Now the big question is, will HP decide to cancel it’s plan of the PC unit spin off?
The current official stand on the spin off plan is still not clear. CEO Whitman has said that decision regarding the spin off will taken with in the next three months.
“”With regard to the potential spin off of PSG, we’re committed to doing the work right now to determine the best path forward and we expect the board to make a determination by the end of the calendar year if not sooner. This decision is solely based on the value to investors and value to customers,””, said Whitman
But what do analysts think about it? Reports in digitimes and the WSJ think that there is a possibility that of HP canceling the spin off plan.
It is well known that HP is presently the leader when it comes to PC sales. As of 2011, HP is expected to ship 37 to 38 million notebooks world wide.
The news of the spin off has already hurt HP. Many of it’s partners such as Quanta Computer, Inventec, Wistron and Foxconn Electronics have lost confidence in HP. And it’s not just the partners who are disappointed, even HP customers will lose their trust in HP if the spin off happens.
The spin off plan has also helped rival companies like Acer by increasing their sales.
The profit margin in the PC business is low, but it is never the less self sustaining.
On the other hand consultant Steven Protter believes HP should go ahead with the spin off in order to maintain financial integrity as the PC unit is low margin.
What do you think about HP’s plan? Would it matter to you if the spin off happens? Do share your thoughts.
