Carl Icahn proposed buying HP if it rebuffed Xerox overtures

Activist investor Carl Icahn, the largest shareholder in Xerox Holdings Corp., floated the possibility of acquiring HP Inc. himself if the printer manufacturer would not pursue a merger with the Norwalk-headquartered company.

According to a Bloomberg report citing an HP regulatory filing, Icahn raised the scenario with HP”™s then-CEO Dion Weisler in an Aug. 12 telephone call after Icahn bought a 4.2% stake in HP.

“He wanted a transaction to occur quickly,” the filing said, adding that Icahn insisted the merger would create approximately $3.5 billion in cost cuts and revenue enhancements ”“ the figure has since been lowered to $2 billion.

HP has repeatedly rebuffed Xerox”™s overtures, which have turned into a hostile takeover bid that included a strategy of replacing HP”™s board of directors. However, the HP filing also noted that Weisler”™s successor as CEO, Enrique Lores, sent an email to his Xerox counterpart, John Visentin, proposing a meeting “to explore the basis for a transaction and alternative transaction frameworks that could deliver attractive value to both HP and Xerox shareholders, and offering that Mr. Lores office would reach out to Mr. Visentin”™s office to arrange a time to discuss.”

Icahn, a former Bedford resident, did not publicly comment on the news report. Last December, Icahn was sued in New York state court by the Miami Firefighters Relief and Pension Fund, which accused Icahn of acquiring HP shared by knowing “Xerox was either considering making an offer to purchase HP, had already approached HP about a possible merger into or acquisition by Xerox or of the obvious merits of Xerox”™s potential acquisition of HP.”