In what would be the biggest move new CEO Mark Hurd has made since taking the reigns at Hewlett-Packard in 2005, HP is said to be thinking of acquiring outsourcing giant CSC.

According to this report, the company has held talks with The Blackstone Group with a view to jointly acquire the troubled oustsourcer.

The Blackstone Group is a private equity investment company based in New York. Any deal would cost multiple billions, but despite the talks being described as “preliminary” by the original story in the Wall Street Journal, shares in CSC reportedly jumped almost 8 per cent on the news. Meanwhile HP shares fell.

The deal would see HP initially take only a minor position with a view to buying out Blackstone’s share at a later date. The companies have so far declined to comment.

A huge outsourcer for the US Government, a deal for CSC pricing the company at more than US$12 billion fell through at the end of last year.