HPE poised for further acquisitions as Silicon Valley valuations come down

CEO Meg Whitman says HPE's acquisition streak is not likely to stop

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) CEO Meg Whitman is expecting to make more acquisitions as a shrinking appetite from venture capital investors drives start-up valuations down.

HPE has been in an acquisitive mood this year, with Cloud Cruiser and Niara joining the higher profile takeovers of SimpliVity and Nimble Storage - taking HPE's spending to over $1.6bn in 2017.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Whitman said she expects acquisitions to continue to be key to HPE's future strategy, with a particular focus on software-defined technology.

She said HPE's acquisition interests are fuelled by more favourable valuations of start-ups, as investors start becoming disillusioned with funding loss-making companies.

"[Valuations have] become more reasonable in the last six months," she said.

"We've made an acquisition of almost one a month over the last six months and valuations are becoming more reasonable because venture capital is getting a little tighter in Silicon Valley.

"The willingness to fund ongoing loses for an indeterminate amount of time - that appetite is shrinking a little bit."

Whitman's acquisition ambitions come after HPE announced disappointing financial results last week, with quarterly revenue dropping 13 per cent.

HPE also announced plans to cut up to $300m in overheads, hinting that these plans could impact jobs.