BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

HP getting ready to close sites

SAN JOSE -- Hewlett-Packard Co. plans to close an undisclosed number of offices worldwide over the next four years to cut real estate costs.

The Palo Alto-based company, which has already disclosed plans to cut jobs and reduce the number of sites used to store crucial computer data, is still deciding which locations to close, spokesman Ryan Donovan said.

Sites that remain open will be those likely to be occupied by employees over a number of years, house large numbers of employees or groups that generate high amounts of revenue, Donovan said. Others will be kept open for legal reasons or if they have another special purpose, he said.

He declined to say how much HP expected to save by the move but said some of the savings would be poured into updating offices that are kept open.

Promoter to buy House of Blues 

Concert promoter Live Nation Inc. has agreed to acquire House of Blues operator HOB Entertainment Inc. for $350 million in cash.

Los Angeles-based HOB runs 10 House of Blues locations in cities such as Toronto, San Diego and Dallas. Its House of Blues venues have capacity for between 1,000 and 2,300 concertgoers.

The company also runs House of Blues Concerts Inc., which owns, operates or exclusively books venues throughout North America.

Live Nation said the acquisition will expand its reach in the growing mid-size venue business and fill geographic gaps in its amphitheater portfolio.

The company expects the deal, which is expected to close by the end of 2006, to boost earnings within the first year.

AOL services may be offered free

NEW YORK -- AOL LLC may give away even more of its services, including its vaunted AOL.com e-mail accounts now limited to paying subscribers, to boost ad revenues and offset declines in subscriptions, a person familiar with the discussions said Thursday.

One proposal under consideration among top AOL executives calls for Time Warner Inc.'s online unit to stop charging subscription fees to users who have high-speed Internet access or even dial-up service from a rival provider.

The person familiar with the talks said a major strategic review over the past several months sought to identify additional ways to keep users within the AOL family regardless of whether they want to keep paying monthly fees of as much as $25.90 a month.

GM CEO facing tough fight ahead

DETROIT -- Just as General Motors Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner's turnaround plan is starting to take hold, analysts say he now has to fight to keep it going and perhaps save his career.

The battle begins today when GM's board meets via teleconference to discuss a plan from dissident shareholder and billionaire Kirk Kerkorian that would link GM with Renault SA of France and Nissan Motor Co. of Japan.

If Kerkorian, who has been unhappy with the pace of change at GM, can convince some big investors of the plan's merits, Wagoner could be ousted and replaced by Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of both Renault and Nissan. He is credited with reviving Nissan from near death.