Dell (DELL) Founder Thinks HP (HPQ) Run by Loonies

In an interview with The Telegraph, Michael Dell, discussing HP's (NYSE: HPQ) botched acquisition of Autonomy, said Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) declined to acquire the company because it was too expensive. He also made a somewhat backhanded comment targeting Hewlett-Packard management, saying this was an "overwhelmingly obvious conclusion that any reasonable person could draw."

Whether HP's management is crazy, incompetent, or the victim of a well orchestrate fraud remains the subject of speculation, but based on his comments it is clear Michael Dell doesn't have much respect for his foes at HP.

HP paid $10 billion for Automony, an asset it now says is worth $8.8 billion less than previously thought.

"The premium that you pay is in some way a measurement of the risk that you're willing to take on. If you pay a small premium relative to the market's then current opinion, you are actually not taking on very much risk, but if you pay an unbelievably large premium, you are taking on an unbelievably large risk," Dell explains.

His comments turn the heat up on criticism of HP's management and its Board of Directors, a group already facing intense scrutiny by investors.

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