HPE offloads software division to Micro Focus
HPE has finalized the sale of its software division, bringing to an end one of the company's most traumatic periods.
The technology giant has confirmed the spin off of its software business in a deal with British firm Micro Focus which is valued at around $8.8 billion.
The news brings an end to the saga of HPE's software exploits, which began when the company acquired Autonomy back in 2011 for $11 billion. However the partnership, which was part of HPE's plan to expand into the enterprise software space was beset with a number of significant issues, with the departure of much of the senior leadership team in its first year, including CEO Leo Apotheker.
The company would later sue former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch and CFO Sushovan Hussain for alleged illegal activities, in a case that still rumbles on to this day.
However offerings such as the ArcSight security platform meant that the business remained an attractive proposition, even after HPE split from parent company HP Inc back in November 2015.
The deal also makes Micro Focus, which is headquartered in Newbury, the UK's largest technology company listed on the London stock exchange, and the world's seventh-largest pure-play software firm. As part of the partnership, former HPE COO Chris Hsu has been appointed CEO of Micro Focus, which now has more than 5,800 employees in its R&D division alone.
"Today marks a significant milestone for Micro Focus, and I am honoured to be leading this team," Hsu said in a statement. "We are bringing together a powerful combination of technology and talent uniquely positioned to drive customer-centered innovation at enterprise scale -- enabling organizations to maximise the ROI of existing software investments while embracing the new hybrid model for enterprise IT."
"It is our mission to provide a best-in-class portfolio of enterprise-grade scalable software with analytics built in, and put customers at the centre of our innovation building high-quality products that our teams can be proud of," he added. "Driven by this mission, Micro Focus is uniquely positioned to help customers and partners address opportunities and challenges within the new hybrid model for enterprise IT -- from mainframe to mobile to cloud."
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