Deals of the day: Fujifilm Holdings buys Xerox to form $18 billion firm
Xerox, which has a market value of $8.3 billion, will first merge with a joint venture the company operates with Fujifilm in Asia
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Fujifilm Holdings is buying control of Xerox in a deal that creates an $18 billion company and marks the end of the independence of the iconic American corporate giant.
Xerox, which has a market value of $8.3 billion, will first merge with a joint venture the company operates with Fujifilm in Asia, according to a statement Wednesday. Current Xerox shareholders will receive a cash dividend of $9.80 per share. In a complex transaction, Tokyo-based Fujifilm will ultimately end up owning 50.1 per cent of the combined entity, which expands the joint venture to encompass all of Xerox’s operations.
The deal will make for a more global company, according to Simon Chan, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “In the past, Fuji Xerox only operated in the Asia-Pacific region, and Xerox targets the Americas and Europe,” Chan said. “With the combined company, they can share cost on research, product development and potentially manufacturing capacity as well.”
The deal marks the end of independence for a US company whose roots trace back to the start of the 20th century. While Xerox became famous for its hardware, it has fallen on hard times as Canon and Asian competitors eroded its dominance while email and other forms of electronic communications took over. The new company will accelerate revenue growth through its global reach and pursue developments in inkjet, imaging and artificial intelligence, it said.
Xerox, which has a market value of $8.3 billion, will first merge with a joint venture the company operates with Fujifilm in Asia, according to a statement Wednesday. Current Xerox shareholders will receive a cash dividend of $9.80 per share. In a complex transaction, Tokyo-based Fujifilm will ultimately end up owning 50.1 per cent of the combined entity, which expands the joint venture to encompass all of Xerox’s operations.
The deal will make for a more global company, according to Simon Chan, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “In the past, Fuji Xerox only operated in the Asia-Pacific region, and Xerox targets the Americas and Europe,” Chan said. “With the combined company, they can share cost on research, product development and potentially manufacturing capacity as well.”
The deal marks the end of independence for a US company whose roots trace back to the start of the 20th century. While Xerox became famous for its hardware, it has fallen on hard times as Canon and Asian competitors eroded its dominance while email and other forms of electronic communications took over. The new company will accelerate revenue growth through its global reach and pursue developments in inkjet, imaging and artificial intelligence, it said.