Dive Brief:
- Micro Focus has completed its $8.8 billion acquisition of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's software assets, creating the seventh largest pure-play software company in the world, Micro Focus announced Friday. The move simultaneously created the largest U.K. technology firm.
- Chris Hsu, former COO of HPE and EVP and GM of HPE Software, was appointed to CEO of Micro Focus.
- By combining the software assets, Micro Focus now has solutions for DevOps, hybrid IT, security and risk management and predictive analytics. The HPE Software acquisition follows recent major investments in The Attachmate Group and Serena Software.
Dive Insight:
Micro Focus' acquisition marks its emergence as one of the largest pure-play software companies in the world. But for HPE, it reflects the continued consolidation of a company that has tried time and again to reinvent itself.
Hewlett Packard split into two companies — HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise — in 2015 and since then HPE has worked to reinvent itself. While HP Inc. has flourished, HPE's growth stagnated as it struggled to keep up with the changing enterprise market. The company's revenues have steadily declined, but CEO Meg Whitman has continued to maintain its transformation is still on track.
A large part of HPE's strategy has centered on divesting assets and streamlining the company's core products. This is what led the organization to begin parting with its software assets last year. HPE is looking to focus on more hybrid enterprise IT solutions along with cloud and infrastructure products.
For the company to continue its transformation, maintaining leadership is crucial. HPE recently brought in a new president to help streamline and optimize the organization following its divestitures. CEO Meg Whitman has promised she is there to stay, though rumors surfaced earlier this year that she was under consideration to become Uber's new CEO.
