Fiorina Refuses To Specify Vote Tally

Hewlett-Packard Compaq Computer

In a press conference, Fiorina said HP carried the large institutional shareholder votes necessary to declare victory for the merger. However, she repeatedly declined reporters' requests to release HP's internal tally of the votes.

"I will not go into details," she said. "That is all I have to say."

Fiorina called on both sides of the merger battle to put "the rancor of the campaign aside" so everybody can move forward to build a combined HP-Compaq. "Building the bridge starts today," she said. "Both sides have fought hard."

When asked if she was sure HP was the winner in the merger vote, Fiorina referred to last November's hotly contested presidential election, saying that everybody seems to want a "hanging chad battle."

She emphasized that a proxy vote involves marking an 'X' on a piece of paper, so "we don't have hanging chad, we don't have dimple chads, and we don't have pregnant chads."

The proxy vote isn't a political contest, and approval for the merger requires only a single-vote majority, Fiorina said. "This is a vote about whether we have received the majority of votes to put these companies together," she said. "We believe we have."

Still, Fiorina acknowledged that it will take several weeks to legally verify the results. "I hope none of you have been surprised by the close vote," she said.

Whether the merger moves forward or not, HP will have to enact layoffs, Fiorina said, adding that HP has "36,000 employees in businesses that are not making money."

The bulk of the 15,000 layoffs expected as a result of the merger would be made in the first six to nine months after the deal is completed, she said.

Asked what she learned from the merger fight, Fiorina said, "No. 1 is never predict an outcome. A lot of people declared the defeat of this merger four months ago. No. 2, I have learned how much I love this company and how much I am willing to fight for what I believe is right for this company."

Fiorina didn't indicate whether she thinks the bitter merger battle has caused irreparable damage at both companies. "A proxy contest is something we did not wish for," she said. "On the other hand, I am hopeful we can now put this contest behind us."

LARRY HOOPER, ELIZABETH MONTALBANO and MARCIA SAVAGE contributed to this story.