The other thing that just occured to me with regards to HP, (and I've seen the references made both here and on the IBK capital release) is that they are a direct competitor to BAE.

I would think that having had a long relationship with BAE, striking a deal with HP would be tantamount to stabbing your best friend in the back. Of course, BAE can afford to make a deal and license some of the military applications, and if they are doddling over that, then I would expect some leveraging, but it still seems far fetched to me.