back to article Could Oracle buy HP?

One way for Oracle to solve HP's CEO problems is for it to buy HP and re-install Mark Hurd as CEO. This isn't quite as off the wall as it sounds. The idea has been mentioned by Silicon Valley Watcher Tom Foremski. He suggests that an Oracle-HP combo would be strong enough to compete against "all of IBM." Umm, apart from the …

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  1. Pete 2 Silver badge

    Databases and printer ink?

    Not one of nature's most obvious pairings.

    Oracle already own Sun, traditionally one of the major platforms for their software products so I can't really see why they'd want another, sicne they don't really seem to know what to do with the one they already have. As for the printer / consumables side, while this is the major part of HP it doesn't sound like there's any real match. Maybe Oracle could do with some high-end calculators, though?

    1. Mark Aggleton
      Thumb Down

      Eh?

      That's a very dated view of HP. They are really pushing their services division at the moment, I'd have thought, that like banks, the retail operation doesn't make much of a contribution to the bottom line.

  2. alwarming

    That would be the grand finale...

    and to think it all started with just a dinner.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Grenade

      That might be a real opposition to IBM

      Both, Oracle and HP will win on that "partnership". Oracle will indirectly retake the lost Sun-part in the server pie and HP will return in Exadata business. if the following equation is a bit questionable: "Oracle + Sun > IBM", then no question for "Oracle + Sun + HP > IBM" and it might be a big shake for the server market.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Oh please...

    NO! Just NO!

    That would be bad in so many ways and the only saving grace is I'd get cheap ink (do staff get discounts? :-)

    /shudder

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      cheap ink

      You save a few bucks on ink, but not enough to be worth suffering through the ordering process. The only decent thing they've done for us in years is pass on a deal for MS Office 2010. Otherwise it appears to be take take take.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      What discount!

      Nope, sorry mate.... It is way cheaper to go and buy from PC world, or somewhere else, rather than get anything through the Employee Purchase Program. But then again, I wouldn't have bought any HP gear anyhow, cause was dead against Hurd the Turd, and wasn't going to give my hard earned cash to him.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Evil Inc.

    Yeah, unless you work there.

    With Herd and Ellison running the show, I'd imagine we'd have to move the head office over a Hellmouth--just to cut down on their commute.

    I take it the author is one of those guys that gets all excited when he hears child labor made his shoes? "Think of the margins!"

  5. Ian Davies

    The other version of this rumour...

    ...is that Oracle buys Dell and puts Hurd in charge.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Oracle+Sun=Dell makes more sense!

      $200 billion combo: Oracle + Sun + HP

      - DB and other apps: Oracle

      - funky new age apps, languages : Sun

      - manageability apps : HP

      - UNIX + RISC : Sun, HP fight.

      - diet Unix : HP

      - storage : hp, Sun

      - PCs : hp

      - printers : hp

      - services : HP, Oracle fight

      $ 150 billion combo : Oracle + Sun + Dell

      - DB + : oracle

      - funky apps : Sun

      - manageability : Sun/Dell fight.

      - UNIX : Sun

      - diet Unix : Dell

      - Storage : Sun

      - pcs : Dell

      - printers : Dell

      - services : Oracle

      So, it looks like less wastage (overlaps) to me.

  6. frogola

    it's the economy, stupid

    Such a consolidation would be bad for an already foundering economy, it would surely add to existing high unemployment.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Unemployment?

      Since when have the rich ever cared about that? Just quit thinking, give everything you own to the nearest rich person then please expire quietly in a gutter. There are always more to replace you; you only exist to funnel money to the rich. What matter if you, him, her, them or everyone is unemployed so long as the flow of money doesn't stop?

      More, more…MORE!!!!!

  7. David Stever
    Unhappy

    Turning Mark Hurd loose

    Yeah, combine the companies, and let's see how long it takes Mark Hurd to run up against another woman who'll bring charges. Unless the new corporation institutes public beheadings to get rid of the odd uncooperative lady friend, it will happen, as a tiger can't change it's stripes.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oracle buy HP?

    You must be joking. Too big to be run effectively.

    Tower of Babel comes to mind.

    1. g1nganinja
      WTF?

      RE Too big to be run effectively

      This is so true - look at IBM and how many heads make uop a meetingt o discuss a meeting to met about who gets what share of what wallet and when = pandemonium !

  9. This post has been deleted by its author

  10. Wallyb132
    WTF?

    It was my impression that...

    It was my impression that Hp was the largest tech company the world over, recently passing Samsung to achieve that honor.

    See:

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/01/29/biggest_tech_firm/

    If the above linked story is correct, that would make HP > Oracle, which in turn would make an Oracle purchase of HP rather difficult, if even possible. It seems more likely that HP would be in the driver seat when it comes to making any purchases, and HP buying Oracle would completely defeat the purpose. The board would very quickly dispatch Hurd and Ellison both. Hurd for obvious reasons, and for Ellison the reasons would be 2 fold, First, for the honor of having fired Larry Ellison from his own company, second, because he and Hurd are friends...

    1. alwarming
      Paris Hilton

      "Biggest" comes in many flavours..

      - "biggest by revenue" (how much you sell) : which is what the said article was talking about. HP is the winner here.

      - "biggest by market cap" (num shares X share price) : which is what this article is talking about. Apple@240billion would be the biggest here.

      - "biggest by number of employees" : what a govt could be concerned about before taking down a giant. perhaps IBM would be a winner here ?

      - "biggest by profit" (most profitable) ... maybe apple or nintendo for last year.

      Paris, coz she likes the biggest ones.

  11. MattBryant
    Troll

    HP and Oracle

    HP Good.

    Oracle/Sun Bad.

    /SP&L

  12. foxyshadis

    Where does Sun fit into any of this?

    This all would have made sense if Oracle had done it before buying Sun. Buying HP would make virtually the entire Sun acquisition redundant. Even Solaris would have to go up against HP-UX, and Solaris is only clearly the winner there for new adopters - there's a huge legacy HP-UX base. Oh, if only Hurd had his indiscretions before last November.

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