Hewlett-Packard to split in two

Tech giant Hewlett-Packard, widely referred to as HP, has plans to divide its business into two separate companies. The company reported a serious profit drop back in August, despite a revenue rise fueled by PC sales. HP is currently going through a restructuring phase and has cut tens of thousands of jobs in the last few years.

According to a report published yesterday by The Wall Street Journal, Hewlett-Packard "intends to announce the move on Monday" and "is expected to make the split through a tax-free distribution of shares to stockholders next year." The PC and printer business will be handled by a company called HP Inc., while corporate operations will be run under the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise name. Current CEO Meg Whitman is expected to become chairman of HP Inc. while lead independent director Patricia Russo will be the head of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise.

If the process completes as expected, the resulting companies will have over $50 billion of annual revenue. As mentioned above, the official announcement of the split should come out later today, so stay tuned.