As any student of industry knows, Elon Musk is hardly the first person to attempt a hostile takeover. But while the Tesla chieftain’s $54.20 per share bid for Twitter continues to resonate, let’s pause to consider earlier attempts at hostile takeovers by well-respected and well-financed entities and individuals that—to ransack some Musk-worthy clichés—took off like a rocket ship but eventually vanished like a wisp of blunt smoke.
Hewlett Packard’s Failed Takeover of PricewaterhouseCooper
In September 2000, HP Inc. sought to expand its technology advisory services by acquiring PwC’s consultancy unit for $18 billion.But two months after making its unsolicited bid, HP abruptly walked away after failing to secure any common ground with PwC. HP Chairwoman and CEO Carly Fiorina lamented that because of “the current market environment, we are no longer confident that we can satisfy our value creation and employee retention objectives—and I am unwilling to subject the HP organization to the continuing distraction of pursuing this acquisition any further.”
