Xerox is done playing mister nice guy – the company has named a slate of directors it wants to shoehorn onto HP's board to spearhead its £33bn hostile takeover bid.
The copier giant will nominate 11 directors at HP's upcoming shareholder meeting in an attempt to gain control of the company's 12-person board. The list includes former senior directors at Aetna, United Airlines, Hilton Hotels, Novartis and Verizon.
Nominees
Betsky Atkins – Chief executive of Baja Corporation, a venture capital firm.
George Bickerstaff – Co-founder and MD of M.M. Dillon & Co., a healthcare and tech boutique investment bank.
Carolyn Byrd – Chair and CEO of GlobalTech Financial, a consulting firm.
Jeannie Diefenderfer – A former Verizon executive, who is now a member of the Workforce Development & Support Advisory Panel at the NSA, where she advises on workforce development and diversity and inclusion.
Kim Fennebresque – former chairman, president, and CEO of financial services firm Cowen Group.
Carol Flaton – former MD at AlixPartners, a global consulting firm.
Matthew Hart – President and CEO of Hilton Hotels until their buyout by Blackstone in 2007.
Fred Hochberg – Chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States during the Obama Administration.
Jacob Katz – Former chairman of Grant Thorton, a leading independent audit, tax, and advisory firm.
Nichelle Maynard-Elliott – Recently served as executive director of M&A for industrial gas giant Praxair.
Thomas Sabatino Jr – Former executive vice president and general counsel of Aetna, an American health insurer.Xerox has been chasing its much larger rival since November, offering $33.5bn or $22 per share. HP has so far refused to play ball, thrice rebuffing Xerox on the grounds that its offer "significantly undervalues" the business.
The nominations signal a more aggressive approach from Xerox – the company previously warned things were going to get nasty – pressuring HP to negotiate a deal. A vote on the nominees could act as a proxy referendum on the proposed merger, and installing several directors more favourable to it will help.
"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 realising the synergies of a combination with Xerox," CEO John Visentin said in a statement.
HP responded by calling the nominations "a self-serving tactic by Xerox to advance its proposal, which significantly undervalues HP and creates meaningful risk to the detriment of HP shareholders".
Additional, earlier, coverage at The Register
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 27 2020, @04:46PM (1 child)
#TeamXerox
(Score: 3, Funny) by Bot on Monday January 27 2020, @10:36PM
#TeamXerox
(Thought I'd make a copy, given the context)
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