> an eye-popping multiple of 12.6 times Autonomy’s 2010 revenue Is 12.6 really "eye-popping"? It seems that similar companies (SAP, Oracle) go for about 4 time

> an eye-popping multiple of 12.6 times Autonomy’s 2010 revenue Is 12.6 really "eye-popping"? It seems that similar companies (SAP, Oracle) go for about 4 times sales (Microsoft is just 3 times sales, probably because they are seen to be in decline). Expecting a growing company to quadruple sales (presumably also quadrupling the number of salesmen) isn't really that crazy, is it? And it's a good way for HP to push their new sales + consulting strategy. It sounds more like a perma-bear whinge about over-priced IT companies. There's good arguments about why IT companies are often overpriced (they do tend to be risky), but I can see where HP was coming from.