HP Buys Palm For $1B

Hewlett-Packard has bought struggling smart phone supplier Palm for $1 billion.

The companies announced Wednesday that the deal will see HP pay $5.70 for every Palm common share. Palm had closed trading Wednesday at $4.63 but traded as high as $18.09 in the past 52 weeks. When debt is included, the deal values Palm at $1.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close by the end of July. Last year Palm unveiled a stylish touch-screen phone, the Pre, that was well reviewed but didn't ring up many sales. Palm struggled to stand out in a market dominated by Apple and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd.