HP Plans Spin-Off

Hewlett-Packard Co. said the medical-equipment and electronic measurement company it plans to spin off next year will be called Agilent Technologies Inc. The new company will have annual sales of $8 billion and 43,000 employees. It will be based in Palo Alto, along with the new HP, and will make everything from ultrasound-imaging technologies to semiconductor-testing equipment. Its initial public offering, expected to be completed next year, is likely to be one of the biggest ever.