HP is planning to make the announcement as early as Thursday, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the company's plans. HP released a statement confirming that it's in discussions with Autonomy regarding a possible offer and that it has "authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives" for its Personal Systems Group, including spinning it off.
Although HP is credited with introducing the first mass-produced PC in 1968, the Hewlett-Packard 9100A "desktop calculator," the company didn't enter the consumer PC market until the mid-1990s. HP solidified its position in the PC market in 2002 with the $25 billion purchase of then-rival Compaq. But in the past couple of years, consumer PC sales have slowed down and have been a drag on growth. And evidence is mounting that sales of HP's would-be iPad competitor, the TouchPad, are disappointing.