LISA BARRON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The announcement of Hewlett- Packard's massive buyout of Compaq was welcome news in the personal computer industry worldwide, which has been plagued by price wars and a slump in global demand.</s>KIRK YANG, CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON: I should note here that PC demand worldwide has been very weak, and you see them aggressively cutting prices to get market share. So it's very healthy to see some consolidation. If that is the case, if consolidation continues, we should not see that much intensified competition, which is good for everybody.</s>BARRON: The $25 billion stock deal was also greeted with enthusiasm by markets around Asia, where Japan staged a share rebound in the afternoon session, to close more than 3 percent higher. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea also posted strong gains. The Hewlett-Packard is some of the best news that investors have in some time.</s>MARCUS ROSGEN, ING BARINGS: A dearth of good news on the markets, so people are thinking this vaguely looks good. It certainly was, in terms of the news of the day, better than anything else we got out.</s>BARRON: It wasn't just the feel-good factor, though. Certain companies in the region will enjoy concrete benefits. Hewlett-Packard employs about 14,000 people in Asia, operating out of 10 offices, in Singapore, Japan, Korea, China, India, and Australia. Compaq's Asia-Pacific headquarters is in Singapore, but it also has production centers in the Taiwan and elsewhere.</s>ROSGEN: Some of it's going to be in Taiwan and Korea. For instance, Trigyn is going to be a beneficiary thereof. Also, in the case of Taiwan, the likes of Quanta should be a net beneficiary.</s>BARRON: It remains to be seen whether the deal will go through and whether the worst is over.
Hewlett-Packard Buyout of Compaq Welcome News to PC Industry