According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, citing unnamed `inside' sources, the Hewlett-Packard (HP) board of directors mulled over the ouster of the company's CEO Leo Apotheker at a recent meeting, but probably have yet to come to a decision about a successor.

Going by the information shared by one of the sources, on the condition of anonymity, it appears that HP director and former EBay chief executive Meg Whitman - who joined HP in January this year - would be appointed as Apotheker's successor, perhaps on an interim basis.

Since Whitman - one of the contenders for the California governor's race last year - seemingly had a mixed record at EBay, and apparently lacks requisite experience in computing for big companies, analyst Jayson Noland, of Robert W. Baird & Co. in San Francisco, is of the opinion that Whitman, if appointed, was not likely to have a long tenure as the HP chief executive.

Meanwhile, as per another reliable source, other than looking for a replacement for Apotheker, the HP board is also re-viewing a proposal for the spin-off of HP's personal computer (PC) division.

The source elaborated that the HP board, which is scheduled to meet again this week, will probably reconsider the spin-off plan as some board members feel that the idea had not been studied thoroughly enough. As such, it is highly likely that either some part of HP, or the whole of it, may become a takeover candidate!