HP extends Autonomy deadline

After a surprinsingly lacklustre response from shareholders, HP gives the remainder until 3 October to make their minds up

HP has extended the deadline over its Autonomy acquisition to 3 October 2011 as it awaits shareholder approval.

In a statement sent to the London Stock Exchange, the technology giant said that just 41.6 per cent of acceptances had been received from shareholders of the UK software company.

“As at 1.00pm (London time) on 12 September (being the first closing date of the offer), HP Vision had received valid acceptances from Autonomy Shareholders in respect of 101,577,809 Autonomy Shares representing approximately 41.62 per cent of the existing issued share capital of Autonomy,” the statement said.

HP first made its bid to acquire Autonomy last month, in the same announcement that it revealed it was looking to spin-off or sell its PSG business.

It also confirmed that filings have been made in the US under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Anti-trust Improvements Act 1976 and in Austria, Germany and Ireland in relation to the conditions of the Offer.

The extension means that there is still time for a rival bid to be made for the software company, but Richard Holway, chairman of TechMarketView said the HP offer was extremely strong.

“The £25.50 per share offer for Autonomy really looked ‘top of the range’. Nobody really expected a rival bid to top that so it’s a bit surprising that the acceptances to date are not higher,” he wrote in a statement. “Indeed immediate reaction on the Stock Exchange is to mark Autonomy shares higher at £25.25 – still a smidgen below the £25.50 offer price. I still don’t see any rival bid as likely – but ‘never say never’.”

However in the statement HP did not rule out a further deadline extension if required.