European Commission OKs HP’s acquisition of EDS (at bizjournals.com)

The European Commission has approved Hewlett-Packard’s planned acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp. With the European regulatory body’s stamp of approval, the deal can move forward, pending the approvals of EDS stockholders and a few other regulators outside the United States. Palo, Alto, Calif.-based HP (NYSE: HPQ) and Plano-based EDS (NYSE: EDS) also settled five stockholder lawsuits related to the pending merger earlier this week. The lawsuits, which were raised by stockholders who initially deemed the proposed merger as insufficient, will be settled once a judge signs off on the agreement, terms of which were not disclosed. EDS and HP both say the the merger will not occur before Aug. 18, EDS said Friday. And, EDS' planned third-quarter dividend of 5 cents per share will be paid on Sept. 10 to stockholders of... [read full story]