Report: HP to spin off PC business, buy software company

Hewlett-Packard, the world's biggest computer maker, plans to spin off its personal computer business and is in talks to buy software maker Autonomy Corp. for about $10 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Growth in the PC market has stagnated as consumers have begun using smartphones and tablet computers. 

HP CEO Leo Apotheker has said he wants to lessen his company's dependence on PCs, which have a low profit-margin, according to Bloomberg.

Autonomy is based in Cambridge, England, and makes programs used in database searches. It was founded in 1996 by Mike Lynch, who owns 8 percent of the company's stock.

HP is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings after the markets close on Thursday.