After months of rumor and speculation, Hewlett-Packard announced today that it will indeed purchase Palm Inc. for a grand total of $1.2 billion.

HP had been one of several companies rumored to be interested in acquiring Palm, whose smartphone sales have been lackluster in recent months. The acquisition of Palm gives HP an inroad into the growing handheld market.

Says a VP from HP:

Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Hewlett-Packard buys Palm for $1.2 billion [MarketWatch]

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