TOKYO -- U.S. office equipment maker Xerox scrapped plans to be bought by Japanese partner Fujifilm Holdings amid a steady drumbeat of criticism from shareholder Carl Icahn, in what amounts to a stinging defeat for Fujifilm CEO Shigetaka Komori.
Under an agreement with activist investors Icahn and Darwin Deason announced on Sunday, six Xerox board members resigned and were replaced by five new directors more closely aligned with Icahn. The departing board members include CEO Jeff Jacobson, a driving force behind the Fujifilm deal.
Komori had sounded upbeat about the acquisition after it was announced Jan. 31, saying it would make Fujifilm "one of the world's biggest document solutions companies," and expressed confidence that Icahn's opposition could be overcome.
But a lack of flexibility in price negotiations -- part and parcel of mergers and acquisitions -- helped doom the deal. Fujifilm refused to accede to Icahn's demands to put a higher value on Xerox, insisting that the initial bid was its best offer. read the rest here