HP buys Bluestone Software

Hewlett-Packard announced it is adding powerful e-commerce software products

to its product line by agreeing to pay $467.6 million in stock for Bluestone

Software of Philadelphia.

HP is playing catch-up with Sun Microsystems, which has been bundling

software with its network and Internet servers in an effort to offer customers

complete networking and Internet solutions. The acquisition of Bluestone, whose

software lets companies make better use of the Web, comes on the heels of the

$18 billion takeover of the consulting unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Bluestone's products will be at the core of Hewlett-Packard's

electronic-business software offerings, which also include security, service

tracking and billing and voice-enabling systems.