The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday (January 10, 2018) that Xerox is “in talks with Fuji Film for deal.”

The news comes after increasing pressure on Xerox to turn the ship around by key investors like board member Carl Icahn, who has recently “declared war” on the venerable print giant.

According to the WSJ, “A full takeover of the Norwalk, Conn., company isn’t on the table,” and “no deal appears imminent.”

You can read the entire WSJ article here, but I’ve pretty much summarized what it said.

Essentially, Xerox is in some sort of “talks” with Fuji Film, but no one is really sure to what extent. Will new Xerox leadership come out of this? Will Xerox simply sell to Fuji Film? Will Fuji Film acquire Xerox and leave the leadership intact? No one knows. This story is developing.

Fuji Film and Xerox have a long standing history through a joint venture started 55 years ago called “Fuji Xerox,” a company in which Fuji Film now owns 75% and that now does an estimated $10B in sales.

Fuji Xerox has been manufacturing Xerox’s A3 products for several product generations and Xerox’s financial struggles and sliding unit placements over the last 11 consecutive quarters has to be affecting Fuji Xerox’s manufacturing to some degree.

Perhaps a merger between the two companies or an outright purchase by Fuji Film would provide Xerox with more stability and more synergy. Or, maybe nothing will come of it. Who knows? At this point, it’s premature as the two companies are simply “in talks.”

~Andy Slawetsky

RSA Solutions at the Xerox Production 2018 Kickoff