HP Source: Reports of CSC Acquisition Are False

Today, a Hewlett-Packard source that requested anonymity squashed recent rumors about a possible acquisition of Computer Science Corp. (CSC), CNET reports.

CSC, an IT consultancy, has been named as a potential acquisition target by The Blackstone Group, and HP allegedly showed interest in purchasing a minority stake in the in CSC, according to various media reports released in early January.

“CSC has occasionally come up from time to time as a potential acquisition, but it’s nothing that we ever seriously pursued and nothing we were in talks with recently,” the anonymous source said, according to CNET.

HP is no fresh fish in the acquisition game. In 2001, the company was in talks with PricewaterhouseCoopers to acquire the firm for $18 billion in cash and stock, but the deal fell through due to disagreements concerning the pricing structure and the partnership in general. Two years later, PricewaterhouseCoopers sold its consulting division to HP’s biggest rival, IBM.

In the past, both HP and CSC have declined comment on a potential acquisition.

–Al Sacco