In yet another twist to the Xerox drama, billionaire activist shareholders Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason – who oppose the proposed takeover deal with Fujifilm – say they’ll consider a cash bid of $40 per share - a 43 percent premium to the Japanese firm’s offer of about $28 per share.
Icahn and Deason, who together own about 15 percent of Xerox, oppose the existing $US6.1 billion proposal that would give Fujifilm control of the iconic US company.
In a letter to shareholders, the activist investors say they’re confident that other potential buyers are waiting in the wings and see the possibility of similar or better value in a standalone Xerox. Apollo Global Management has reportedly approached Xerox to express interest about a possible acquisition.
“It’s not cheap, for sure,” Masahiko Ishino, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Center, told Reuters. “But for Fujifilm, it’s still better than a complete collapse of the deal, which could mess up Xerox in a major way. Fujifilm shouldn’t waste this opportunity.”
Xerox said in a statement that it has refrained from engaging with Icahn/Deason, even as “they have targeted our management and Board with personal, unsubstantiated attacks.” The company said that Icahn’s comments to the Nikkei that “a combination of Xerox and Fuji Xerox creates a risk of bankruptcy was false and highly irresponsible.”
Xerox last week appealed a New York court ruling to block its deal with Fujifilm just hours after the company announced that its ousted CEO Jeff Jacobson and board of directors would remain in place.
In a statement, Xerox said it has taken an appeal from the decision enjoining the Fuji Xerox combination. Xerox strongly believes that the decision is contrary to well-established New York law vesting the Board of Directors of Xerox with the business judgment to enter into the transaction agreement with Fujifilm and that the decision to approve should rest with Xerox’s shareholders, not the Court.
Xerox will now have to wait until September before its appeal can be heard, according to a court filing this week.