NEW YORK, Sept. 11 (Reuters) - Computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. said on Monday it was in talks to buy the consulting arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the world's second-biggest accounting firm, in a possible cash-and-stock deal valued at $17 billion to $18 billion.

If completed, the purchase would be the first big acquisition by Hewlett-Packard since Carly Fiorina took over as chief executive in mid-1999.

Hewlett-Packard said in a statement that the purchase would be part of its strategy of providing clients with solutions to high-technology problems.

"The acquisition of the PwC consulting practice would complement HP's offerings by further strengthening the linkage between business process transformation and technology implementation," the statement said.

The Palo Alto, Calif., company said terms of the deal had not been agreed upon and major issues still were being discussed.

Hewlett-Packard said the acquisition would add to its estimate of 15 percent revenue growth but mildly weaken its cash earnings per share in fiscal 2001.

Wall Street analysts have estimated Hewlett-Packard's 2001 earnings at $4.21 a share, according to research firm First Call/Thomson Financial.

The deal would be "approximately neutral" to cash earnings per share in fiscal 2002, the first full fiscal year of operations, Hewlett-Packard said.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is Hewlett-Packard's auditor. The computer maker said its audit arrangement with New York-basedPricewaterhouseCoopers likely would end if the acquisition went through. Hewlett-Packard shares closed at $121-5/8 on Friday. Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.