Friday, November 8th 2019

Xerox Corporation Tries To Acquire HP Inc.

Xerox Holdings Corporation, a maker of print and digital document products and services, has reportedly made an offer to buy HP - a maker of wide variety of PCs and printers, for as much as 30 billion USD. The decision for HP takeover came after negotiations between HP Inc. and Xerox Corp. that had a topic of "our multi-year strategy and our ability to position the company for continued success in an evolving industry"

Comparing the two companies, HP Inc. has a much larger market capitalization of over 28 billion USD, while Xerox Corp. has a bit over 8 billion USD. However the underlying reasons for this takeover could be that HP possesses a debt valued at around 20 billion USD, which is quite a lot comparing to market cap. Even with good revenue numbers, HP will remove up to 16% of its workforce by 2022, due to the declining business of selling printers. Xerox plans to take over HP in hope to combine the workforce of two companies and lower their combined expenses by as much as 2 billion USD, that Xerox estimates.
HP released a PR statement where they say the following:
"As reviewed at HP's most recent Securities Analyst Meeting, we have great confidence in our multi-year strategy and our ability to position the company for continued success in an evolving industry, particularly given the multiple levers available to drive value creation. Against this backdrop, we have had conversations with Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) from time to time about a potential business combination. We have considered, among other things, what would be required to merit a transaction. Most recently, we received a proposal transmitted yesterday. We have a record of taking action if there is a better path forward and will continue to act with deliberation, discipline and an eye towards what is in the best interest of all our shareholders."
This basically confirms the intention of HP to be acquired by Xerox, in hope to combine their forces and deliver a better solution to the market with more value for existing and upcoming customers. Additionally, Citigroup Inc. will supposedly help Xerox with finances in order to merge with HP and take on HP's 20 billion USD debt.
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