Xerox Considers Takeover Offer for HP: report
Xerox Holdings Corp. is considering an offer for the $27 billion PC giant HP Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported.
Xerox’s board met Tuesday to deliberate a deal that could result in $2 billion of annual cost savings, the newspaper cited unidentified people as saying.
Currently, HP’s market value is $27 billion, while Xerox’s is just north of $8 billion. This means that in order for a Xerox takeover to be successful, it would have to make a premium offer to HP’s stock price.
Representatives for the companies did not comment.
On Monday, Xerox agreed to sell a slice of a venture with Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp. for $2.3 billion. Provided that the printing and copying market has been hit by the global move toward cloud computing and other internet services, a deal with HP inc. could help the company find new sources of revenue.
Xerox has already secured an informal funding commitment from a major bank, the Journal reported.
HP is also struggling in a stalled PC market with the advent of smartphones. The company aims to slash as much as 16% of its workforce as part of a restructuring meant to cut costs and boost sales.
Update: HP Inc. confirmed that Xerox Holdings Corp. has made a takeover offer.
“We have had conversations with Xerox Holdings Corporation from time to time about a potential business combination,” the Palo Alto, California-based company said Wednesday in a statement. “We received a proposal transmitted yesterday. We have a record of taking action if there is a better path forward and will continue to act with deliberation, discipline and an eye toward what is in the best interest of all our shareholders.”