SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): January 26, 1999
COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
DELAWARE 1-9026 76-0011617
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(State or Other Jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer
of Incorporation) Identification No.)
20555 SH 249
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77070
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(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
(281) 370-0670
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(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
<PAGE>
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
In a release dated January 26, 1999, Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE:
CPQ) announced the creation of the AltaVista Company, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Compaq based in Palo Alto, California. The announcement
outlines Compaq's plans to establish AltaVista as a separate company to assert
its worldwide leadership in the Internet arena. The news release is attached
as Exhibit 99.
ITEM 7. EXHIBITS.
Exhibit 99 News Release dated January 26, 1999 is attached.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: January 26, 1999
COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION
By: /s/ Earl L. Mason
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Earl L. Mason
Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
EXHIBIT 99
COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION P.O. BOX 692000 NEWS RELEASE
PUBLIC RELATIONS HOUSTON, TEXAS 77269-2000
TEL 281-514-0484
FAX 281-514-4583
HTTP://WWW.COMPAQ.COM
[LOGO OF COMPAQ COMPUTER CORPORATION APPEARS HERE]
[LOGO OF ALTAVISTA COMPANY APPEARS HERE]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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COMPAQ CREATES THE ALTAVISTA COMPANY EXTENDING ITS INTERNET LEADERSHIP
POSITION
COMPANY TO MAKE ALTAVISTA THE LEADING INTERNET DESTINATION SITE FOR
INFORMATION AND E-COMMERCE
ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR PUBLIC OFFERING
HOUSTON, JAN. 26, 1999 - Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) today
announced the creation of the AltaVista Company, with the goal to make
AltaVista the leading destination site for information and e-commerce on the
Internet.
The AltaVista Company, based in Palo Alto, is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Compaq. Compaq officials also announced plans to establish AltaVista as a
publicly traded company.
Throughout the past year, Compaq has taken several steps to assert
its worldwide leadership in the Internet arena. Compaq delivers more computers
to Internet companies and Internet users than any other company - and has
moved rapidly to leverage the industry leading search and navigation
capabilities of AltaVista, acquired just last year in its purchase of Digital
Equipment Corporation. Today's announcement further demonstrates Compaq's
strategic intent to solidify its position as a major Internet player.
"By establishing AltaVista as a separate company, it can better focus on
providing the best user experience on the Internet, from search, to commerce,
to communication and community," said Eckhard Pfeiffer, Compaq President and
CEO. "We see this as a significant opportunity for Compaq to expand its share
of the rapidly growing Internet market for content and services and also
enables us to unlock the tremendous value of AltaVista for our shareholders."
Pfeiffer named Rod Schrock the President and CEO of the AltaVista
Company. As Senior Vice President of Compaq's Consumer Product Group, Schrock
firmly established Compaq as number one in the home PC market and launched
Compaq's Presario Internet PCs featuring "Instant Internet" keyboard buttons
(linked to AltaVista and e-commerce sites) which drive more than 20 million
user visits to the AltaVista destination per month. He also engineered the
recent technology update to AltaVista and drove Compaq's agreement to purchase
Shopping.com, (HTTP://WWW.SHOPPING.COM), a leading e-commerce company offering
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more than two million consumer products and services.
"No matter what you want to do on the Internet, you can get it done
quicker, faster and easier using AltaVista," said Schrock. "AltaVista is
already widely recognized as the world's leading search and navigation guide to
the Internet. And today, we're announcing our plans to transform AltaVista
into the most powerful and useful destination on the Internet."
According to Schrock, AltaVista users will be provided the results they
want with the fewest "click-throughs" and page-views than any other Internet
site. They will get content such as news and stock quotes more rapidly and
have the ability to buy products and services easier and faster.
AltaVista's business model will be fundamentally superior to what is found
in the industry today. "We will measure ourselves on customer loyalty and
revenue growth, and will do this by giving users what they want faster and
with fewer page views," said Schrock. "Users may actually spend less time per
visit on AltaVista, but because they will get better results faster, they will
come back more often."
To broaden the user experience, Compaq also announced an Internet
Technology agreement with the Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) to share
Robust communication and community capabilities between AltaVista and the
Microsoft Network (MSN). Under the agreement AltaVista will make available to
its users an AltaVista-branded version of Microsoft's Hotmail service as well
as future Microsoft instant messaging technology. In addition, the companies
agreed to work together on a range of other future Web-based communications and
community building services. Microsoft has also agreed that AltaVista will be
the primary search engine powering the Microsoft Network. Consumers will
benefit from these agreements as they will be able to search and message
easier and faster across a wider range of user communities.
ALTAVISTA LEADS THE INDUSTRY
AltaVista is a pioneer in Web search technology and continues to set new
standards such as indexing the entire Internet as well as providing the
first-of-their-kind AV Family Filter and AV Photo Finder search capabilities.
Over the last several months, AltaVista has made extensive enhancements
to make navigating the Internet relevant, fast and effective for Web users of
all proficiency levels. Both customers and the press have noted the impact of
these improvements:
- - AltaVista is the ninth largest individual domain on the Internet, as
ranked by the firm Relevant Knowledge.
- - AltaVista's audience increased 45 percent from Q3'98 to Q4'98 and
revenues increased 64 percent during the same time frame.
- - AltaVista received the highest marks in the Internet search industry for
accuracy, user satisfaction and loyalty based on a recent study by Cyber
Dialogue, a leading authority in one-to-one marketing and on-line market
research.
- - AltaVista was ranked #1 in customer loyalty by the market research firm
NPD.
- - AltaVista was named one of "The Best Sites of '98" and "The Best Search
Site" by Yahoo Internet Life/ZD Net.
- - AltaVista was named the "Fastest Search Site on the Internet" by Search
Engine Watch.
- - AltaVista is a nominee for the 1999 Webby Awards given by the
International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS).
- - AltaVista holds 52 index search-related patents and has the #1 index of
the Web according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
For more information, visit AltaVista's flagship site located at
HTTP://WWW.ALTAVISTA.COM or HTTP://WWW.AV.COM.
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COMPANY BACKGROUND
Compaq Computer Corporation, a Fortune Global 100 company, is the second
largest computer company in the world and the largest global supplier of
computer systems. Compaq develops and markets hardware, software, solutions,
and services, including industry-leading enterprise computing solutions,
fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, networking and communication
products, commercial desktop and portable products and consumer PCs. The
company is an industry leader in environmentally friendly programs and
business practices.
Compaq products are sold and supported in more than 100 countries through
a network of authorized Compaq marketing partners. Customer support and
information about Compaq and its products are available at
HTTP://WWW.COMPAQ.COM.
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# # #
Compaq, Registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Product names mentioned
herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective
companies.
NEW YORK CONTACTS ON 1/26:
Compaq Computer Corporation Jim Finlaw 212-554-8192
[email protected]
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Shandwick International Karyl Levinson 212-554-8192
[email protected]
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HOUSTON CONTACT:
Compaq Computer Corporation Alan Hodel 281-518-8932
[email protected]
