Fujifilm scores big win against US activist investors blocking Xerox merger
Fujifilm has won a court battle in its doomed bid for Xerox after an investor blocked a merger between the two companies.
A New York court overturned preliminary injunctions requested by Darwin Deason, an investor who sold his Affiliated Computer Services to Xerox for $6.4bn in 2010.
Deason and activist investor Carl Icahn, who between them own 15 per cent of Xerox, successfully blocked Fujifilm’s $6.1bn deal to buy the company in May.
They called for an auction which was fair for all shareholders, and accused Xerox management of not looking after the owners.
The pair also claimed management had withheld vital information from shareholders at a meeting to approve the deal.
Deason said in May he had never seen a company as badly run as Xerox.
The new decision might allow Fujifilm to force Xerox back to the negotiating table, and could give the company more leverage in a $1bn lawsuit it filed against Xerox for breach of contract.
However any attempts to revive the deal would likely struggle as new management has been appointed by Deason and Icahn.
The company is now headed by John Visentin, an Icahn adviser.