THE DEAL: Hewlett-Packard Co. is buying Autonomy Corp. for about $10 billion.
WHY: HP wants to expand its lineup of business software products as it lowers its profile in consumer electronics. Buying Autonomy will give HP another lure in the business market, where its chief rivals are IBM Corp., Oracle Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc.
GOOD VALUE?: HP is paying a steep price to acquire Autonomy. It translates to $42.11 per share, 64 percent higher than Autonomy’s previous closing price. The $10 billion price tag is also 11 times greater than Autonomy’s annual revenue of $870 million and represents about one-sixth of HP’s current market value.