HP may spin off PC unit, kills TouchPad

SAN FRANCISCO Aug 18 (Reuters) - Hewlett Packard Co (HPQ.N) on Thursday said that it was in talks to buy software firm Autonomy AUTN.L and may spin off of its Personal Systems Group, confirming earlier reports.

HP also said it will discontinue the WebOS-based TouchPad tablet computer and phones.

The PC business is part of HP's Personal Systems Group, which pulls in about $41 billion in annual revenue for the company.

HP's low-margin, high-volume PC business was seen as a spinoff candidate, given intense competition and a slide in consumer PC demand.

Bloomberg first reported the news. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta. Editing by Robert MacMillan)