Should he stay or should he go? Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson announcing the merger in January
The latest twist in the legal battle between Xerox and its activist shareholders over the proposed US $6.1bn takeover by Fujifilm has seen a deal that would remove CEO Jeff Jacobsen and other board members expire.
The merger was announced at the end of January and attracted immediate opposition from shareholders Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, who had already called for the removal of Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobsen, claiming that it represented poor value for shareholders. Mr Icahn and Mr Deason betwen them hold about 15% of Xerox shares.
Mr Deason brought a lawsuit in March that resulted in an injunction being granted on 27 April, with a Supreme Court judge saying that Mr Jacobson was “hopelessly conflicted” during the acquisition talks, according to a Reuters report. A deal was then apparently agreed under which Mr Jacobson and six other board members would resign, to be replaced by management “close to” Mr Icahn, and the entire merger reviewed, with the possibility of the Fuji Xerox partnership being terminated.
However, a report this morning from Bloomberg says that this agreement has expired and that Jacobson and the management team will now stay. It is not clear what happens next.
