Oracle and HP hug; now Hurd can get to work

Settlement clears legal obstacles and ends Ellison's 'crazy talk'

So the war between Oracle and HP lasted all of two weeks. Seems about right for this sort of thing.

It was only the day after Labor Day that Oracle boss Larry Ellison was ranting and ranting some more about HP's audacity in kicking up a legal fuss over the prospect of its banished ex-CEO Mark Hurd spilling company secrets to his new employer, Oracle. Ellison went so far as to suggest that the matter cast into doubt future dealings between the technology heavyweights, who reportedly share some 140,000 customers.

Some pundits called Ellison's outburst "crazy talk" -- wait, that was me - as there was never any real possibility that a personnel matter was going to come between the two longtime partners.

It didn't.

What has happened is that Hurd has had to swear on someone's grave that he really, really, really won't tell his friend Ellison what HP had on the drawing board when he left. And, Hurd has coughed up a bunch of stock options he had taken with him upon being booted under the taint of scandal.

From a story in the New York Times:

The parties declined to reveal details about the settlement but said Mr. Hurd would protect H.P.'s confidential information.

However, in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, H.P. said it had modified its separation agreement with Mr. Hurd. He effectively waived about half the compensation owed him. Mr. Hurd agreed to give up his rights to the 330,177 performance-based restricted stock units granted to him on Jan. 17, 2008, and to the 15,853 time-based restricted stock units granted on Dec. 11, 2009.

Now Hurd can finally hang pictures in his new office.

• Data Center
• HP
• Larry Ellison
• Mark Hurd
• Oracle
• Sun