HP’s Deal Flops Are Whitman’s Cautionary Tale: Real M&A

As Meg Whitman gets ready to embark on deals, the challenge is to not repeat the mistakes of her predecessors at Hewlett-Packard Co.

In the decade before she took over as chief executive officer, Hewlett-Packard spent almost three times as much on takeovers and related banker fees -- about $66 billion in all -- than it was left with in market value at its trough. Now, Whitman is pursuing the split that analysts had long called for. When that’s done, she says the remaining entity will once again be an active acquirer.