20 September 2005 Technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) is to strengthen its IT management portfolio with deals to buy asset management software maker Peregrine Systems and storage management vendor AppIQ.

HP revealed it has agreed to buy the troubled Peregrine for $425 million in cash. It will integrate Peregrine’s IT asset and service management software portfolio into its OpenView business unit, HP’s distributed management software suite.

The acquisition would flesh out HP’s OpenView software, said Ann Livermore, executive vice president at HP’s Technology Solutions Group. “Peregrine will help HP deliver a more complete management software solution to CIOs and enhance their ability to manage their IT assets.”

But HP is paying a considerable price for a company that has undergone significant upheaval in recent years. Accounting regularities forced the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2003 and several of its executives including the CEO and CFO were indicted by US regulators on fraud and conspiracy charges.

Peregrine reported annual revenues of $191.1 million in 2004.

The acquisition follows HP’s deal to buy ApplQ, an open storage area network management and storage resource management provider.

Both deals are expected to close by the first quarter of 2006 respectively, subject to shareholder approval.