Fury over leaked voicemail

Hewlett-Packard's Chief Financial Officer Bob Wayman told employees in a recorded message that the company did not behave unethically or illegally in its last-minute lobbying to secure votes for its proposed purchase of Compaq.

"Frankly, I find these allegations both insulting and infuriating," Wayman said in memo to staff.

His comments follow a voicemail that Chief Executive Carly Fiorina left for Wayman two days before the merger vote and which was leaked to a local newspaper, and subsequently posted on its Website.

In the voicemail, Fiorina told Wayman that HP "may have to do something extraordinary" to win the backing of two large institutional shareholders for HP's planned $19 billion purchase of Houston-based Compaq.

An HP spokeswoman said that both HP internal security and outside security consultants are investigating the leaked voicemail.