STEVENSON, Md., Dec. 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Hewlett-Packard Company ("Hewlett Packard" or the "Company") (NYSE:HPQ) during the period between August 19, 2011 and November 20, 2012, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you have suffered a significant loss for Hewlett-Packard Company common shares purchased on or after August 19, 2011 and held through August 22, 2012, through October 3, 2012 and/or through November 20, 2012, you may obtain additional information about this lawsuit and your ability to become a lead plaintiff by contacting Brower Piven at http://www.browerpiven.com/">www.browerpiven.com, by email at mailto:hoffman@browerpiven.com">hoffman@browerpiven.com, by calling 410/415-6616, or at Brower Piven, A Professional Corporation, 1925 Old Valley Road, Stevenson, Maryland 21153. Attorneys at Brower Piven have combined experience litigating securities and class action cases of over 60 years.
No class has yet been certified in the above action. Members of the Class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the Class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff no later than January 25, 2013 and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement and how much of a settlement to accept for the Class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the Company during the Class Period. You are not required to have sold your shares to seek damages or to serve as a Lead Plaintiff.
The complaint accuses the defendants of violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by virtue of the Company's failure to disclose during the Class Period that at the time Hewlett-Packard acquired Autonomy, the business's operating results and historic growth were the product of accounting improprieties, including the mischaracterization of sales of low-margin hardware as software and the improper recognition of revenue on transactions with Autonomy business partners, even where customers did not purchase the products, that at the time Hewlett-Packard had agreed in principle to acquire Autonomy, defendants were looking to unwind the deal in light of the accounting irregularities that plagued Autonomy's financial statements, and that the Company's Enterprise Services (formerly Electronic Data Systems Corporation ("EDS")) business's profit margins suffered from unfavorable revenue mix and underperforming contracts. According to the complaint, following the Company's announcement on August 22, 2012 of an $8.0 billion charge for impairment of goodwill associated with the acquisition of EDS, and the Company's November 20, 2012 disclosure it had taken an $8.8 billion charge related to its acquisition of Autonomy due to serious accounting improprieties, the value of Hewlett-Packard shares declined significantly.
If you choose to retain counsel, you may retain Brower Piven without financial obligation or cost to you, or you may retain other counsel of your choice. You need take no action at this time to be a member of the class.