Xerox Targets $22 Per Share In HP Takeover Bid: Report

The bid, which consists of 77 percent cash, and 23 percent stock, is $2 higher than HP’s share price Thursday morning when it traded at $19.98, and it is 23 percent higher than where HP shares started the month at $17.78.

Xerox has offered to buy HP for $22 a share in a cash and stock offer that would give HP shareholders a 48 percent stake in the new combined enterprise, CNBC reported on Thursday.

The reported bid, which consists of 77 percent cash, and 23 percent stock, is $2 higher than HP’s share price Thursday morning when it traded at $19.98, and it is 23 percent higher than where HP shares started the month at $17.78. Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported that Xerox has lined up financing for the deal through Citigroup Inc.

Hewlett Packard yesterday confirmed reports that it had received a buyout proposal from Xerox and said it has had previous conversations with the company about “a potential business combination.”

[Related story: 5 Things To Know About A Potential Xerox-HP Deal: ‘The Copier King And The Printer King Combined’]

“We have had conversations with Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) from time to time about a potential business combination,” the company said. “We have considered, among other things, what would be required to merit a transaction. Most recently, we received a proposal transmitted yesterday.”

HP has said it has confidence in its multi-year strategy as well as its ability to “position the company for continued success in an evolving industry.” However, the company recently announced it was axing between 7,000 and 9,000 jobs in an attempt to save $1 billion by 2020. The company is also overhauling how it priced its printers in the hopes of staving off competition from third-party ink and toner suppliers.

Both company’s share prices surged Wednesday on news first reported by The Wall Street Journal that Xerox had offered to buy the company. Subsequent reports said the copier kingpin offered HP less than $23 a share in a cash and stock transaction that would be financed via a loan from Citi.

Rumors of the buyout offer sent Xerox shares higher, forcing them to $37.55 as this morning -- down 7-cents from the previous day -- but up 12 percent from where they started the month.

While Xerox has not commented on the deal, HP said it would “act in the best interest” of its shareholders.

“We have a record of taking action if there is a better path forward and will continue to act with deliberation, discipline and an eye towards what is in the best interest of all our shareholders,” the statement read.