HP Spent $150M To Sell Merger, Walter Hewlett Says

Hewlett-Packard Co. Compaq Computer Corp.

"We're still trying to determine how much of the shareholders' money HP executives spent campaigning for this vote. Our best estimate at present is $150 million," Hewlett told members of the Council of Institutional Investors, many of whom reacted with gasps at the figure.

Hewlett, a key shareholder and son of one of the company's founders, led a 4-month effort to convince shareholders to vote against the proposed merger, which he has said would involve the company too heavily in Compaq's low-margin personal-computer business.

A source close to Hewlett said he had spent roughly $32 million to convince shareholders to vote against the deal.

The company claimed a narrow victory after shareholders voted on March 19, but Hewlett has refused to concede. The final results are still being tallied.

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The company has declined to say how much it spent in the unusual battle that featured dueling newspaper ads and intensive one-on-one lobbying.

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