HP has confirmed the rumours anent the future of its Personal Systems Group - the globocorp's PC-making arm, which at one point seemed likely to be sold off - by announcing that it will merge with the company's printer tentacle.

According to a corporate announcement issued today:

HP’s Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) and its Personal Systems Group (PSG) are joining forces to create the Printing and Personal Systems Group. The combined entity will be led by Todd Bradley, who has served as the executive vice president of PSG since 2005.

Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president of IPG, is retiring after a highly accomplished 31-year career at HP.

“This combination will bring together two businesses where HP has established global leadership,” said CEO Meg Whitman. “By providing the best in customer-focused innovation and operational efficiency, we believe we will create a winning scenario for customers, partners and shareholders.”

Prior to Whitman's appointment replacing her troubled predecessor Leo Apotheker, it had appeared that HP would divest itself of the Personal Systems Group, which was one of the world's major PC players but struggled to turn much of a profit in an intensely competitive market. However the strategy of moving into lucrative enterprise software failed to convince the markets, leading to a U-turn, Apotheker's departure and now the plan to merge operations with the printer arm.

HP also announced streamlining and amalgamations in marketing and communications. The announcement can be read in full here. ®