Towards the end of last year, printing company Xerox started an aggressive pursuit of the acquisition of HP, though the latter company wasn"t convinced by its attempts. After two rejections, Xerox decided it would take its bid directly to shareholders, believing that the decision made by HP"s Board of Directors "defies logic".
Now, Xerox has announced the next step in its attempt to take over HP"s business by nominating a full slate of "independent" candidates to replace the entire Board of Directors at HP. The candidates will be presented during the company"s shareholder meeting, and the list includes former executives from companies such as United Airlines, Hilton Hotels, Novartis, and Verizon. Xerox has also gathered $24 billion in binding financing commitments to take over HP.
John Visentin, CEO and Vice Chairman of Xerox, said HP shareholders believe the acquisition will bring "tremendous" value to the company:
“HP shareholders have told us they believe our acquisition proposal will bring tremendous value, which is why we lined up $24 billion in binding financing commitments and a slate of highly qualified director candidates (...). We believe HP shareholders will be better served by a new slate of independent directors who understand the challenges of operating a global enterprise and appreciate the value that can be created by realizing the synergies of a combination with Xerox.”
The candidates nominated by Xerox are Betsy Atkins, George Bickerstaff, Carolyn Bird, Jeannie Diefenderfer, Kim Fennebresque, Carol Flaton, Matthew Hart, Fred Hochberg, Jacob Katz, Nichelle Maynard-Elliot, and Thomas Sabatino, Jr. HP"s annual shareholder meeting doesn"t yet have a public date for 2020, but last year, it was at the end of April, so it would make sense for it to be around the same time.