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HP sued by investor over PC and TouchPad antics
Didn't reveal shares were bumwad from Bank of Toyland
HP is facing legal action brought about by a disgruntled shareholder who claims the tech titan hid plans to review ownership of the PC biz and flush the TouchPad down the toilet [causing it to suddenly catch fire - ed].
The PC business may be sold, kept or as seems most likely spun off with the backing of private equity investors.
But the initial revelation on 18 August triggered shockwaves through the markets in the subsequent 24 hours, sending its stock price plummeting by around 20 per cent.
According to a report in Reuters, share owner Richard Gammel reckons the tech titan kept concerns over its business model from investors and that it made no hint that webOS was on the peripheries of its future strategy.
In a lawsuit filed in US District Court this week by legal eagles Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, Gammel points the finger at HP chief Leo Apotheker and chief beancounter Cathie Lesjak for painting a misleadingly positive picture about the biz.
The case aims to recoup unspecified damages for anyone who invested in HP from 22 November last year to 18 August this year, claiming that the vendor's lack of transparency safeguarded its share price. ®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
