Xerox walks away from its $35 bn bid for HP Inc due to coronavirus outbreak

After the coronavirus outbreak weighed on its campaign to take over HP Inc, Xerox Holdings Corp walked away from its $35 billion hostile cash-and-stock bid. Xerox’s decision came after it said earlier this month it would postpone meetings with HP shareholders to focus on coping with the global pandemic. A statement said Xerox was set to challenge HP’s board at the latter’s annual meeting of shareholders in May, but will now abandon this effort as well as its tender offer for HP’s shares. Xerox added that there were compelling long-term financial and strategic benefits in a potential combination with HP. While it is possible that the companies will choose to engage once the coronavirus crisis subsides, Xerox’s decision means that it will not get another chance to put such pressure on HP until its next annual shareholder meeting in spring 2021. The banks financing Xerox’s takeover bid ‘never wavered in their commitments’ despite the market turmoil fuelled by the coronavirus outbreak. Both Xerox and HP have seen their business suffer in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, though HP’s stock has proved more resilient as its employees are productively working from home to protect themselves from the virus.