Professional Documents
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Running Head: CASE ASSIGNMENT 1
Running Head: CASE ASSIGNMENT 1
Case Assignment
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
CASE ASSIGNMENT 2
Case Assignment
How Do You Feel About the 8-K Press Release Announcing the Impairment in Case
Exhibit 6?
I think HP's press release was a strategic move to counter unrealistic future expectations
about Autonomy's performance. Already, HP had purchased intangible assets and goodwill
amounting to $4.6 billion and $6.6 billion, respectively (Hopkins, 2018, p.8). However, the
company felt that Autonomy's value had been exaggerated and accused the executives of
cooking the books to inflate the purchase price. If HP were to stick to Autonomy's stated value,
the shareholders would expect too much from the acquisition. However, HP executives noted
that failures, improprieties, and misrepresentations would give a wrong picture of Autonomy's
not satisfy the shareholders' expectations. The press release clears the air and prepares everyone
Do You Think the Level of CEO Turnover Played a Role in the Acquisition? How About
Yes, the level of CEO turnover could have played a role in the acquisition. The
acquisition was one way of addressing HP's poor performance, which could have been attributed
to the high level of CEO turnover. Firms engage in acquisitions to make necessary leaps in
already competitive markets (“Mergers and Acquisitions,” n.d.). In the current case, HP is
already struggling with diminishing margins in the hardware business (Hopkins, 2018, p.2),
probably due to leadership problems. Since 1999, the company has had more than four CEOs,
most of whom are forced to resign after a few months of appointment. The current acquisition is
strategic since HP has been performing poorly in the hardware market. Autonomy was a
CASE ASSIGNMENT 3
software leader, and its performance over the years was impressive. Consequently, the
acquisition would make HP even more competitive in the local and foreign markets.
CASE ASSIGNMENT 4
References
Mergers and acquisitions. (n.d.). Price Water House Coopers. Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/url?
sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=16&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjWr__c
tcvnAhUhA2MBHYWjCrwQFjAPegQIBRAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pwc.nl
%2Fnl%2Fassets%2Fdocuments%2Fpwc-mergers-
acquisitions.pdf&usg=AOvVaw01W4O0uhz6iOrALQ1chg_p