While Xerox Corp. and Fujifilm Holdings are locked in a legal combat over the termination of their acquisition deal, the head of Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd., the joint venture between the sparring companies, expressed confidence that the venture”™s future is secure.
In an interview with Reuters, Fuji Xerox President Kouichi Tamai insisted that the companies will keep the joint venture intact, despite threats from Xerox that it would seek out new partners for the Asia-Pacific market. Fuji Xerox is 75 percent owned by Fujifilm, and the rest is owned by Xerox.
“I”™m confident a breakup will not happen because that wouldn”™t make sense (for Xerox) in terms of the energy, money and time it would take to do so,” Tamai said, warning that the Norwalk-headquartered Xerox would lose $1 billion in revenue if Fuji Xerox was shuttered. “That would increase costs for Xerox. It is my responsibility to convince Xerox that it is cheaper and more reasonable to source products from us.”
Tamai also stated that he believed Xerox and Fujifilm will eventually settle their differences and complete the $6.1 billion transaction. “My mission is to persuade Xerox executives that the merger would be the best solution for both companies,” he said. “Daily interactions with them actually have given me a feeling that many at Xerox actually support the merger.”
