HP Considered Buying Tibco, Teradata

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) considered buying Tibco Software Inc. (TIBX) and Teradata Corp. before pursuing the U.K.’s Autonomy Corp., said people with direct knowledge of the situation.

HP agreed to buy Cambridge, England-based Autonomy yesterday for $10.3 billion. HP approached Tibco this year, indicating it could make a per-share offer in the high $30s, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because the details aren’t public. Tibco Chief Executive Officer Vivek Ranadive held out for a higher bid, telling the board he could get the stock to the proposed price range without a takeover, the person said. Tibco’s shares closed yesterday at $19.07.

HP also examined Dayton, Ohio-based software maker Teradata before approaching Autonomy in April, said some of the people. Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch, who had known HP chief Leo Apotheker since his days at the helm of SAP AG (SAP), entered talks with HP without seeking competing bids because the company had performed well independently, lessening the need for a sale, the people said.

HP had hesitated about whether to pursue the deal, announced yesterday, following Standard & Poor’s cut this month to the U.S. credit rating and the widening European sovereign- debt crisis, rattled global markets, the people said.

Palo Alto, California-based HP, whose debt financing for the deal was arranged Barclays Plc, is using part of its cash abroad for the acquisition, said the people.