Northrop Grumman Closing Pension Plan

Northrop Grumman will stop offering its cash balance plan to new employees (generally effective 7/1/2008) but instead is moving them into an existing defined contribution plan with a matching contribution. New employees will receive an automatic company contribution of 3% to 5% of base pay per pay period based on age to a retirement account in the Northrop Grumman Savings Plan. Existing employees still have the cash balance plan, but the company is decreasing the pay-based credit component of the payout formula depending on the employee’s age.

HP and EDS discussions complete

Hewlett-Packard will buy EDS for $13.9 billion in a deal that will turn it into a more-formidable rival to IBM but will also likely entail significant job cuts in order to achieve the necessary cost savings. The combination would make HP the second largest global provider of IT services after IBM. Under terms of the deal, H-P will pay $25 a share in cash for EDS and expects the deal to close in the second half of 2008.

Again, I am wondering where ExcellerateHRO measures up in all this.

Edited (6/9/09) to add: Towers Perrin has sold its 15% stake in ExcellerateHRO to HP. I wonder if HP will keep the company as a division of its business or spin it off?

HP and EDS in "advanced discussions"

HP and EDS confirmed that they are in "advanced discussions" that could result in HP acquiring EDS to create a more formidable competitor to IBM. Such a deal could be worth between $12 billion and $13 billion. The news sent EDS shares surging $5.27, or almost 28%, before a halt closed trading at $24.13. The rumored value of the deal would imply a price between $24 and $26 a share for EDS, a level the stock has not traded at since last August. HP's stock fell $2.48, or 5%, to $46.65 [before also being halted, something the story doesn't mention].

Source: MarketWatch

This could be interesting for the HR outsourcing industry. EDS owns 85% of ExcellerateHRO; I doubt this is a business HP wants anything to do with that particular business. I'd wager they will put their interest in ExcellerateHRO on the block as soon after buying EDS as their contractual obligations allow.

Khan Leaves Hewitt - You Heard It Here First

Rohail Khan, Leader of North America Benefits Outsourcing, is no longer at Hewitt. The prediction in this blog that he would be gone within a year turned out to be correct with a margin of error of one week.