HP + Gateway?

By this point we all know that just because someone at an investment bank says it might happen doesn't mean it's going to, but CNET reports that Andrew Neff, an analyst with Bear Stearns, is floating a scenario in which HP could end up buying Gateway. It mainly involves whoever ends up running HP spinning off its PC business before any tie up, but with PC sales expected to slow this year, Neff seems to think it's the only way they'll be able to lower costs and keep up with the behemoth known as Dell. After the merger with Compaq you'd think that HP would be a little gunshy about yet another complicated acquisition, but no matter what happens, the reality on the ground is that PC business is getting rougher by the minute—and that's why when you think about it's not all that crazy that
IBM sold off its PC division to Lenovo.