Fiorina grilled over key conversation

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
In a surprise move, an attorney for Walter Hewlett called Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina back to the witness stand on Thursday over the transcript of a conference call between HP and Deutsche Bank. The 19 March conference call centred on the topic of getting Deutsche Bank to switch its stance to favouring HP's proposed merger with Compaq in a crucial shareholder vote that same day. Hewlett is suing HP, where he is a board member, to block that merger, and a central question in his suit is whether HP exerted undue influence to sway the bank's vote. Hewlett attorney Stephen Neal read from the transcript, in which Fiorina urged Deutsche Bank to change its vote, thanked the bank representatives for listening, and told them that the vote was "of great importance to their ongoing relationship." Later in the morning, however, an advisor to Hewlett testified that in conversations he had with Deutsche Bank executives, no one had said they felt pressured by HP. Over the objections of HP attorneys Steven Schatz and Boris Feldman, Neal peppered Fiorina with questions about the transcript, which she said she hadn't read carefully. In the transcript, the chief executive also said that HP's design for integration with Compaq was "not based on theoretical plans." Fiorina said that all the transcript showed was that she was appreciative of Deutsche Bank's time, and she reiterated that HP did not buy votes. HP's lawyers, who introduced the transcript into evidence on Wednesday, argued that the transcript shows only that Neal's claim of bribes-for-votes is thin. "That's what your bribe case comes down to, a statement at the end of a conference call," Feldman said. At one point while Fiorina was on the witness stand, Neal stood close by, much as Al Gore had encroached on George Bush during a debate during the 2000 presidential campaign. Feldman implored Neal to back away. "Can you give her a little room?" he asked. Fiorina had seemed taken aback to be recalled to the witness stand. After her previous two days of testimony, when she'd held her ground against the Hewlett side, on Thursday morning she'd been jaunty as she walked up the courthouse steps. Hewlett has also testified in the hearing. Under cross-examination on Wednesday, he acknowledged that he had no reason not to believe HP executives when they said they had not bought Deutsche Bank's vote. On Thursday morning, Neal also called HP chief financial officer Bob Wayman to the stand to discuss the transcript, but Wayman said he did not recall many of the specifics of the call. In addition, Hewlett's attorney brought forward an internal HP memo that encouraged voting parties to consider the company's customer relationships. It is unclear whether the transcript will be made public. Initially on Thursday the court and attorneys for both sides agreed to making it public, but shortly after Neal's questioning, HP's lawyers said they had a request from Deutsche Bank that it be marked confidential. The parties will decide on the matter at the lunch break. Following the HP executives, Fleischer, the advisor to Hewlett, answered questions from HP's attorneys about his relationship with Hewlett and the fees he would get if the merger vote were to fail. The HP side pointed out that Fleischer's $12m was much larger than the $1m HP had agreed to pay Deutsche Bank if the merger were to succeed. Hewlett's attorneys, meanwhile, countered that a payment from HP to Goldman Sachs, if the merger were to go through, would be much larger than the fee to Fleischer. Other questions focused on meetings between Fleischer and Deutsche Bank -- including one on 19 March, the day of the shareholder vote that narrowly approved the Compaq merger -- about whether the bank would vote against the deal.
For a round-up of the latest tech business coverage, see the Business News Section. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

bootlegger

Make that 13 people now - I got refused today at Manchester airport. I thought I was up to date on this legislation - I knew of the EU ruling from...

25 minutes ago by bootlegger on UK airport body scans will not be opt out
tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

3 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

8 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

17 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint