HP will split into two businesses: reports

PC/printer and enterprise hardware/services businesses to be created

HP is preparing to announce a split into two separate businesses - one focused on PCs and printers, and another on enterprise hardware and services.

The prediction was leaked to the US-based Wall Street Journal on Sunday, which has claimed the move could be announced today, Monday 6 October, US time.

As Reuters reports, despite being a one-time industry pioneer and "stalwart of Silicon Valley", the vendor has struggled to adapt lately. One chief executive has followed another in recent years as the firm has attempted to restructure.

The latest, Meg Whitman (pictured), is expected to lead the new PC-and-printer focused spin-off as chairwoman while remaining chief executive of the enterprise-focused firm, according to US news site MarketWatch on Sunday.

"Current lead independent director Patricia Russo will be chairman of the enterprise company, while Dion Weisler, an executive in the PC and printer operation, is to be CEO of that business, this person said," it added.

There are still 300,000 employees worldwide at HP, and the current, combined operation turns over $112bn (£70bn) a year.

According to the Wall Street Journal article, HP expects to spin the computer and printer business off from the corporate hardware and services business via a shares sell-off next year.

So far, the vendor - founded in 1939 - has declined to comment.