Judge Denies HP Motion To Dismiss Hewlett Suit Challenging Proxy Votes

Hewlett-Packard

The judge issued his ruling today after hearing three hours of oral arguments from both sides Sunday morning in Wilmington.

Walter Hewlett, speaking on behalf of the William Hewlett Revocable Trust, said in a statement, "We are pleased with the court's decision to deny the motion to dismiss and are grateful that the court took up this issue on such short notice. The discovery process is currently ongoing and we look forward to the trial later this month."

HP immediately responded in a statement that said, "We respect the chancellor's decision to hear the evidence on the issues that have been raised. We remain confident, particularly based on the arguments presented, that once the facts are heard, we will prevail. We remain optimistic we will be able to complete the merger on our current schedule."

The trial is scheduled for April 23, 24 and 25 in the Delaware court.

Hewlett filed suit on March 28, alleging that HP management coerced Deutsche Bank on the morning of March 19 into switching in support of the merger as many as 17 million votes it had previously voted against the merger.

HP denies all charges and expects the merger to close in late April or early May once the votes are certified.

Hewlett further charged in his suit that HP closed a new multibillion-dollar credit facility with Deutsche Bank on March 15. Hewlett said in his suit that HP management let it be known to the bank that if it did not switch its votes to favor the proposed merger, "its future dealings with HP would be jeopardized."