Fujifilm sues Xerox for 860 million after the failure of the merger

Fujifilm accuses Xerox of succumbing to pressure from investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason to abandon the proposed $6.1 billion merger.

Fujifilm has sued Xerox for more than $1 billion (€860 million) plus punitive damages, accusing her of succumbing to pressure from investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason by abandoning a proposed $6.1 billion merger.

Fujifilm accuses Xerox of “intentional and egregious conduct” by calling off the merger after the copier company reached a deal with Icahn and Deason that handed control to new management, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Now, Fujifilm accuses Xerox of being “recently subject to the whims of activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who, despite being minority owners of Xerox shares, have dragged the Xerox Board in more directions than can be counted.”

Ambas empresas habían acordado en enero pasado una compleja transacción que habría fusionado a Xerox en la empresa conjunta Fuji Xerox de Asia, y le habían dado a Fujifilm el 50,1 por ciento de las acciones ordinarias de Xerox.

Icahn, el multimillonario inversor, y Deason, uno de los principales inversores de Xerox, habían argumentado que la fusión subestimaba a Xerox. Deason también acusó al ex director ejecutivo de Xerox, Jeff Jacobson, de organizar la fusión para mantener su trabajo. Jacobson renunció como parte del acuerdo con Icahn y Deason.