Xerox secures $24bn financing for HP hostile takeover bid
Printer maker Xerox has announced it has secured $24bn (£18.3bn) financing for its $33.5bn takeover offer for HP – a deal the computing giant is opposing.
HP rejected Xerox’s $22 per share offer in November, saying it “significantly” undervalued the company. Xerox then took the proposal directly to HP shareholders.
Read more: Xerox takes $33.5bn HP takeover bid hostile as tensions build
In a letter addressed to HP’s board on Monday, Xerox chief executive John Visentin said his company had engaged in “constructive dialogue” with many of HP’s largest shareholders.
“My offer stands to meet with you in person, with or without your advisors, to begin negotiating this transaction,” Visentin wrote.
HP shares rose as much as 1.27 per cent in trading before the bell in New York, while Xerox fell 1.30 per cent.
Visentin has previously said HP’s refusal to engage in mutual due diligence for the bid “defies logic”.
Activist investor Carl Icahn – who holds a 4.2 per cent stake in HP and a 10.9 per cent stake in Xerox – last month urged HP shareholders who agreed with a merger with Xerox to reach out to the computer maker’s directors for immediate action.
HP has said it will agree to a deal that involves the computer maker becoming the acquirer of Xerox, stating that it recognizes the potential benefits of consolidation.
The company has also accused Xerox of using “aggressive words and actions” to force through a deal without providing sufficient information.
In response, Xerox said: “While you may not appreciate our ‘aggressive’ tactics, we will not apologise for them.”
Read more: Xerox to sell off stake in Fuji Xerox for $2.3bn
The takeover bid comes after Xerox sold off its £2.3bn stake in Fuji Xerox to Fujifilm, ending a bitter dispute between the two companies.
Fujifilm will end its office equipment sales partnership with Xerox in 2021, the Nikkei Asian Review reported today, allowing Xerox to enter growing Asian markets.