Xerox Woos HP Holders With $1.5 Billion Sales Growth Target

(Bloomberg) -- Xerox Holdings Corp. believes its proposed HP Inc. takeover would create as much as $1.5 billion in potential revenue growth, according a presentation to HP’s shareholders made public Monday.

The printer maker outlined its case for a tie-up between the companies, arguing the combined firm will be worth about $31 a share to HP investors on a pro-forma basis. The merged entity will generate more than $4 billion in free cash flow in the first year before taking any synergies into account, according to the presentation, confirming a report in Bloomberg News.

“The value of the transaction goes beyond economics. In consolidating industries, first movers not only win but also have an opportunity to reshape the competitive landscape in an enduring way,” John Visentin, Xerox’s chief executive officer, said in the presentation.

Xerox has already said it believes the combination would create roughly $2 billion in synergies, which it argues could be achieved in 24 months. Those savings could be achieved through streamlining their operations by reducing the number of suppliers the combined company would use, cost reductions on information technology and reducing its real estate footprint, among other measures.

The presentation for HP shareholders goes further, saying a merger of their operations would allow cross-selling and a unified platform for clients. That could yield an estimated $1 billion to $1.5 billion revenue growth, Xerox said.

To get to this amount, Xerox says it has a three-year roadmap that includes generating $540 million to $750 million from pitching complementary products to existing clients, $50 million to $100 million from manufacturing and distribution efficiencies and $350 million to $400 million from integrating HP products into Xerox’s office-as-a-service offerings.

It also said there could be $300 million to $400 million in growth from Xerox’s services and software and $150 million to $300 million from offering Xerox’s leasing options to HP customers. A representative for Xerox declined to comment, while a representative for HP couldn’t immediately comment.

HP’s shares were little-changed at $20.50 at 9:58 a.m. Monday, while Xerox rose less than 1% to $37.99.

HP last month rejected an unsolicited, cash-and-stock offer from Xerox worth $22 per share, arguing it undervalued the company and citing concerns about the health of its smaller rival’s business. Xerox said it planned to take its case straight to HP’s shareholders after the Palo Alto-based hardware maker refused to grant the mutual due diligence it requested.

The presentation to be released publicly Monday is the first step in that effort, and Visentin will start meeting some HP shareholders this week to sell the plan. Xerox has asked for three weeks of mutual due diligence in order to validate its case for a tie-up, noting in the presentation it expects no financing conditions and no regulatory risks.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts said this month that a merger carried risks and could cause some near-term downside in both stocks. Their Dec. 3 note added that the deal would leave investors more exposed to “a declining printer business.”

Activist investor Carl Icahn, who owns as stake in both companies, called on HP last week to push ahead with the talks, calling the deal a “no-brainer.” He accused the company’s directors and management of seeking to preserve their own jobs instead of protecting shareholders’ interests. He argued HP’s standalone plans amount “to little more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.”

Icahn is Xerox’s largest holder with a nearly 11% stake in the Norfolk, Connecticut-based company. He also owns a 4.2% of HP, making him its fifth-largest holder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Deveau in New York at sdeveau2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Fion Li, Ben Scent

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