Shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ +0.62%) appear headed for a new 52-week low today after the company disclosed an $8.8 billion charge related to its acquisition of Autonomy. The stock was off nearly 12% pre-market.
"The majority of this impairment charge is linked to serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations at Autonomy Corporation plc that occurred prior to HP's acquisition of Autonomy and the associated impact of those improprieties, failures and misrepresentations on the expected future financial performance of the Autonomy business over the long-term," HP said in a press release reporting fourth-quarter and full-year results.
Last August, HP bid $10 billion in cash for Autonomy, which specializes in information management. Then-CEO Leo Apotheker canceled plans to use capital for share repurchases after announcing the deal.
