Xerox is trying to create value for shareholders to step first in a "long overdue merger" market, the firm said in its first public disclosure since dangling a takeover bid to HP Inc.
"Our business is long overdue for restructuring, and those who act first will have a clear advantage," the company said in a statement late Thursday. "We look forward to moving this project along expeditiously and building additional value for shareholders," HP Inc said.
In turn, Xerox first publicly confirmed HPE's (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) takeover bid with the merger announcement and pushed "this phase forward."
The Xerox proposal to purchase HP has been recorded by CNBC at $22 a share in a money and stock deal that would bring HP investors 48 percent stake in the new combined company.
According to CNBC, the offer, which consists of 77 percent money and 23 percent stock, was $2 lower than the share price of HP when it closed at 19.98 on Thursday morning -- and 23 percent higher than where HP stocks ended the month at $17.78.
Bob Venero, chief operating officer of Holbrook, N.Y.-based software company Future Tech, No. 101 on the CRN 2019 SP500, found the Xerox comment nothing short of saber-rattling propaganda that ignored the economic realities of HP stepping in as a $58 billion goliath with a prominent position in the thriving PC market relative to Xerox's $9.83 billion in a shrinking printer sector.
"It feels like Xerox seeking to redesign and re-energize HP with HP having been effective in a big split from HPE," he said.
Venero said the PC market's safety has been chronically underrated. "The PC is the cloud vision and is active more than ever before," he added.
Venero- who is a shareholder of Xerox and HP- wishes that HP will ward off the Xerox offer. Consolidation, he added, would not favor companies, customers or allies.
"It's the worst thing that could happen for businesses and consumers a lot of time when a market consolidates," he said, adding that his HP revenues had risen significantly following his separation from HPE.
HP confirmed on Wednesday night that it received a buyout proposal from Xerox and said it had previous conversations with the company about "a potential business combination."
HP said they have faith in its multi-year plan as well as its ability to "place the company for continued success in a changing market." That said, HP recently announced that it would cut between 7,000 and 9,000 positions in an attempt to save $1 billion by 2020.
HP Inc is worth more than $27 billion, while Xerox has a market value of just around $8 billion.
