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By Suzanna Kerridge, 4 March 2002 12:00

NEWS HP CEO Carly Fiorina faced fresh opposition this weekend over her company's proposed merger with Compaq after her chief rival made it known he was trying to lure back former HP boss Lew Platt. Fiorina is said to be furious with Walter Hewlett's attempts to convince Platt to takeover the running of the company if the merger fails. Hewlett asked Platt to return to the HP board until a permanent replacement can be found for Fiorina. Hewlett has made no secret of his desire for Fiorina to resign if shareholders vote no to the deal. HP claimed the move smacked of desperation and lacked integrity. The war of words between Fiorina and Hewlett is expected to escalate over the coming weeks in the build up to the 19 March shareholder meeting as both sides try and drum up support. However, crucial to the outcome is the recommendation by the Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS) - proxy advisory services responsible for around 20 per cent of HP stockholders. The ISS is expected to report its views tomorrow after the markets close tomorrow.
In order for the deal to go through, HP must secure at least 70 per cent of the votes.
However, it is facing an uphill battle. So far, investors holding only 2.34 per cent share have come out in favour of the vote while at least 20 per cent of the shareholders -including HP heirs and small institutional investors - have come out against the vote. Fiorina will have to win over the 25 per cent retail investors and 55 per cent institutional investors if she is to beat Hewlett and his dissenters.