HP Shareholders OK Delaware Incorporation

Hewlett-Packard Co.’s shareholders voted to change the company’s incorporation to Delaware from California, a move partly designed to give it greater protection from shareholder lawsuits. The No. 2 computer maker was founded in 1939 in a Palo Alto garage, and the company is a fixture in Silicon Valley. “It certainly doesn’t mean we are abandoning California in any sense,” Chairman and Chief Executive Lewis Platt told shareholders at Tuesday’s meeting. The company said the change won’t affect the location of its operations or management. HP shares rose 38 cents to close at $65 on the NYSE.