Some investors speculated that directors might be sympathetic to Walter Hewlett's concerns.
"You gotta wonder what the board is thinking," said Chris Ely, a fund manager with Loomis Sayles & Co, which manages about US$65 billion. "I haven't seen enough out of H-P to give me confidence in Carly. She's taken a couple of steps where she's stumbled.''
Walter Hewlett wouldn't say if he plans to run a full-fledged campaign to persuade shareholders to vote against the acquisition.
Hewlett-Packard will file its S-4 registration statement, a document that will outline the rationale for the acquisition and the terms, within days, according to the company's statement.
Fiorina and Compaq Chief Executive Michael Capellas will probably need to meet with investors in a bid to convince them to back the plan, said Todd Ahlsten, research director of Parnassus Investments.
"It will make it more of a dogfight," said Ahlsten, whose firm holds 650,000 Compaq shares and 150,000 Hewlett-Packard shares. "Carly and Capellas will have to get on the road and do a full-court press."
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