Hewlett-Packard Enterprise shrinks again in $8.8b spin off

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co will spin off a big chunk of its business software line-up in an $8.8 billion deal with Micro Focus International Plc, continuing the unraveling of what once was Silicon Valley's largest company.

The Palo Alto, California-based company said on Wednesday that it will get a $2.5 billion cash payment and its shareholders will hold a 50.1 percent stake in the new combined company.

HPE is spinning off units including application delivery management, big data and enterprise security. HP Enterprise, also known as HPE, plans to focus on selling data-center hardware and other commercial tech gear to other big organizations.