On Sunday, HP’s board of directors nixed Xerox’s recent offer that lit up the printer copier market with buzz during the last two weeks as the legacy behemoths mulled coming together. HP said it was not tossing out the idea of the two giants merging at some point, but it was saying no to this Xerox offer.
“We recognize the potential benefits of consolidation, and we are open to exploring whether there is value to be created for HP shareholders through a potential combination with Xerox,” HP’s board wrote. “However, as we have previously shared in connection with our prior requests for diligence, we have fundamental questions that need to be addressed in our diligence of Xerox.”
While the move was ostensibly between the two companies and their boards, many see the hand of activist investor Carl Icahn at work, as he recently took a large position in HP. HP published the details of the offer Xerox CEO John Visentin sent to HP on 5 November.
The deal was structured to give HP shareholders a value for their stock that it has not seen since February after HP delivered disappointing Q1 results. However much of that US$22-per-share value was contingent on Xerox continuing to perform well. read the rest here