Year in review: A merger mess
One of the biggest mergers in technology history is on unstable ground, as shareholders balk and family ties weigh heavy. Here's how the deal was done--and how it may eventually come apart.
 
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The reaction to the Compaq buyout, which aims to combine two of the PC industry's giants, was immediate: Will this work? Can they pull it off?
Although the deal may have surprised industry experts, HP says it had been eyeing Compaq since 1999.
The merger would bring HP new storage and service units--and potentially make it the world's largest PC maker. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be the world's most efficient.
Walter Hewlett, who has always been a background figure at HP, is thrust into the spotlight by his stance against the merger.
The companies aim to combine into "one strong new culture," but that may not jibe with the storied HP Way.
The lack of ardor toward the merger should not surprise HP, whose employees reacted with signs of bitterness to this year's massive layoffs.
Even if the companies manage to close their deal, they still face fiscal concerns in the carnage of the withered dot-com revolution.
The deal may not be an ideal fit on paper, but unwinding it would put the future of HP and particularly Compaq--which this year dismantled its Alpha development team--at risk, analysts say.
