HP Investors Poised to Reprimand Lane for Autonomy Fiasco
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Hewlett-Packard Co. investors will get the chance to voice dismay over the $8.8 billion writedown of Autonomy Corp. when they’re asked to re-elect Chairman Ray Lane and other directors at an annual meeting today.
Shareholder advisers have said that the board failed to properly vet the acquisition of software maker Autonomy, and are recommending that investors vote against Lane and some other members of the 11-person body. Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis & Co. faulted the board for the writedown due to “serious accounting improprieties,” and for depleting the stock’s value through years of mismanagement.