It’s being absorbed by Fujifilm.
Yes, Xerox, the company that was so successful at what they did that their name became a verb, is done for. Well, not entirely; they’ve had a longstanding relationship with Fujifilm, and will merge into the company. As per Bloomberg:
Xerox, which has a market value of $8.3 billion, will first merge with a joint venture the company operates with Fujifilm in Asia, according to a statement Wednesday. Current Xerox shareholders will receive a cash dividend of $9.80 per share. Tokyo-based Fujifilm will ultimately end up owning 50.1 percent of the combined entity, which expands the joint venture to encompass all of Xerox’s operations.
The agreement marks the end of independence for a U.S. company whose roots trace back to the start of the 20th century. Xerox became famous for its hardware — its copiers were so ubiquitous that the name Xerox became a verb — and it also invented an early graphic interface and mouse now so familiar with modern computers. But it fell on hard times as Canon Inc. and Asian competitors eroded its dominance while email and other forms of electronic communications took over.
There’s probably a bit of irony to that last bit. You could say that Xerox’s competitors… mimeographed them.
Only the most timely and entertaining jokes and references for my readers.
According to Bloomberg, the massive deal will, sadly, shed some 10,000 jobs from Xerox. That’s just the way these things tend to work. And the market has already reacted to the news; Fujifilm’s stocks dropped by 8% in Japan. That said, Xerox’s stocks rose by 12% in the wake of the news, so it’s not all bad. It’s a fair bet the brand will live on.
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