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.