Update: Hewlett-Packard to Acquire Bluestone Software

Updated from 4:38 p.m. EDT

Hewlett-Packard(HWP) agreed to acquire Bluestone Software(BLSW), a provider of Internet software platforms, tools and technologies for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and mobile Internet transactions.

Hewlett-Packard will swap 0.2433 presplit shares for each share of Bluestone. Based on H-P's closing price Tuesday of $92.50, the company will exchange stock valued at $22.50 for each share of Bluestone, which would value the acquisition at about $468 million. Shares of Bluestone closed Monday at $21.94. Bluestone's shares reached a high of $23.25 Tuesday, but recently settled back to $23.19 in after-hours trading. Bluestone's 52-week high is $155.

H-P expects the transaction to add to cash earnings per share in fiscal 2001.

Also after the closing bell, Bluestone, which is based in Philadelphia, reported a third-quarter loss of $7 million, or 33 cents a share, excluding noncash charges, primarily related to the write-off of purchased, in-process research and development and goodwill. Total revenue for the third quarter rose to $11.6 million from $4 million a year ago.

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