The Electronic Data Systems Corporation will be acquired by the Hewlett-Packard Company, according to company officials.

E.D.S. is a well known operator of corporate computer systems and HP is one of the biggest personal computer and printer makers, turning the merger into a highly covered global subject.

Both companies have had their boards of directors analyse the deal and after their approval, the estimated price for the buy was set at $13.9 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of the year.

The acquisition will surely double HP’s services revenue, announced at $16.6 billion in 2007.

Mark V. Hurd, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, explained today in an interview that HP needed E.D.S. because “this is an asset that we can extend our capabilities,” as quoted by the New York Times. Also, the plan to make E.D.S. a separate business group was announced.

The Electronic Data Systems Corporation was founded in 1962 by H. Ross Perot and pioneered the data management industry. In 1984, the company was sold to General Motors, which later in 1996 turned it back into an independent company. By 2008, E.D.S. counted 139.000 employees and it is now featured on the Fortune 500 list.

Hewlett-Packard started in 1939 with the partnership of two electrical engineers from Stanford University, William Hewlett and David Packard. From the begining they offered a wide range of electronic products for industry. In 2007 the company’s revenue was of $104 billion, making HP the first IT company ever to report such a number.

The combined services from the two companies will have over 210,000 employees and will operate in more than 80 countries.