Xerox Falls as an Independent Brand, Set to Merge With Fujifilm
Xerox, which has been one of the icons of the American tech industry, has now lost its status as an independent brand. Its printer and photocopier business that has made it a household name will now be folded into Japan's Fujifilm Holdings, with 10,000 jobs being eliminated in the process.
It's a story of how an industry giant got left behind and eventually fell on hard times, as Bloomberg noted. The printer and copier hardware that have made the Xerox brand synonymous with photocopying has since been matched, then exceeded, by more advanced models from Asian manufacturers and rivals like Canon.
Selling the business to Japan's Fujifilm Holdings is being seen as a last resort for the ill-fated company as it tries to stay afloat amidst a shareholder coup, according to the Financial Times. The deal now puts the company under joint ownership as Fuji Xerox, with the Xerox brand and company name surviving in the process.
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"They probably felt pressured to do something because Icahn and them are going to get their way," Argus Research analyst Jim Kelleher noted, referring to Xerox activist investor Carl Icahn.
"I don't think Icahn thought this was a transformative deal, but a way to jazz up the stock price a little," Kelleher added. The deal that was agreed on had far-reaching consequences aside from the Xerox brand losing its independence, as well.
With Fujifilm's "increasingly severe" outlook on the market environment, the company is now driving the joint venture to drop 10,000 jobs in Asia. Although both companies have worked together in the region for 55 years, Fujifilm is now reportedly looking to transition from the declining copier and printer market, which has shrunk dramatically with the advent of email and the Internet.
The new Fuji Xerox venture is now allegedly looking to move into something more sustainable, like medical imaging, ultrasound equipment or managed printing services.
