Elaborating on the alliance between Ing C Olivetti & Co SpA and Digital Equipment Corp (see today’s front page), Carlo de Benedetti disclosed that Hewlett-Packard Co had also approached Olivetti for a possible alliance, but declined to elaborate; an early benefit to Olivetti from the alliance is that DEC aims to increase its volume of purchases of personal computers from Olivetti; DEC will be given a seat on Olivetti’s board and get a second one as the alliance progresses; de Benedetti said the DEC agreement was completely different from the tie that turned so sour with AT&T Co because DEC has had a strong presence in Europe for many years.
