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posted by Fnord666 on Monday January 27 2020, @04:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the gloves-are-off dept.

Xerox names the 11 directors it hopes will oust most of HP's board and put $33bn hostile takeover to shareholders:

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


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  • (Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday January 28 2020, @05:45AM (1 child)

    by driverless (4770) on Tuesday January 28 2020, @05:45AM (#949913)

    They're going about it the wrong way, they only need to replace one person. Put Fiorina back as CEO, wait a few years, and then they can buy all of HP for $15.95.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 28 2020, @03:26PM (#950090)

    That's $20.00 too much.