FTC Closes Hewlett-Packard/Compaq Investigation

The Federal Trade Commission today announced that it has closed its investigation into whether the proposed merger of Hewlett-Packard, Inc., (HP) and Compaq Computer Corporation (Compaq) may substantially lessen competition.

The Commission conducted an extensive investigation of the merger's effect on competition in markets for personal computers, servers, and microprocessors, among other products. Based on that investigation, the Commission did not find reason to believe that the proposed transaction would impair competition in any relevant market.

Throughout the course of their respective investigations, the FTC and European Union (EU) staff consulted with each other. The parties facilitated the consultative process by waiving their confidentiality rights to permit full communication among FTC and EU staff.

The Commission voted 5 - 0 to close the investigation without taking any enforcement action. Both HP and Compaq have been notified of the Commission's action. The closing letters sent by the FTC to the parties and a statement by Commissioner Mozelle W. Thompson have been posted on the Commission's Web site, and are the only publicly available documents regarding this action