2 shareholders seek offer of at least US$40 per Xerox share
TOKYO: Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, shareholders in Xerox Corp who oppose an agreed deal with Fujifilm Holdings, said they would consider an all-cash bid of at least US$40 (RM157.94) per share — a 43 per cent premium to the Japanese firm’s offer.
In an open letter to shareholders, the billionaire investors also said they were posting a US$150 million bond to preserve courtordered preliminary injunctions — including one that blocks Xerox from holding a shareholder vote on the Fujifilm deal.
The saga pits Icahn and Deason, who own about 15 per cent of Xerox, against current Xerox management who have agreed to a complex US$6.1 billion deal that would give Fujifilm control and values the company at about US$28 per share.
The letter also offered a blistering attack on Xerox’s current board for going back on a deal to settle their dispute, with the investors adding they were “confident other potential buyers are waiting in the wings” and they saw the possibility of similar or better value in a standalone Xerox.
Apollo Global Management LLC has approached Xerox about a likely acquisition, said sources.
Xerox declined to comment on the letter. It failed to gain a quick appeal to the decisions blocking the Fujifilm deal on Monday and the court will now hear its appeal in September, which gives Icahn and Deason time to look for other suitors.
At US$40 a share, Xerox would be valued at more than US$10 billion. Last month, Icahn and Deason said Xerox could be valued at between US$54 and US$64 per share, if their suggested alternatives to the proposed merger were taken up.
A source said Xerox’s board let the settlement expire because it came to believe it had flexibility to renegotiate a deal.