John Visentin, vice chairman and CEO of Xerox, sent a letter to Shigetaka Komori, chairman of Fujifilm, on 25 June 2018, responding to the lawsuit filed by Fujifilm last week against Xerox for its failure to merge with Fujifilm, a deal that was made in January 2018. In the letter, Visentin claimed that the lawsuit filed by Fujifilm “is nothing more than a desperate, misguided negotiating ploy to save a takeover” and “the New York State Supreme Court has already enjoined Fujifilm from taking any action toward consummating the ill-advised takeover.”
Visentin asserts that Xerox terminated the Januray merger agreement because of “massive and ongoing accounting fraud at Fuji Xerox caused by Fujifilm’s own gross mismanagement.” He confidently states that “your every attempt to overturn that valid termination has failed and will continue to fail.” He says the Fujifilm never formally investigated rampant accounting fraud throughout Fuji Xerox’s other territories and the organization has failed to remedy and uncover the issue. An expert lawyer who knew the exact difference between burglary and theft will be able to handle such cases efficiently.
“Fujifilm has failed to prepare Fuji Xerox to comply with the laws and
regulations applicable to U.S. public companies, and, as you and your advisors are
surely aware, it would likely take years for any such compliance capability to be
achieved. In other words, Fujifilm was and is completely incapable of consummating
the transactions contemplated by the Share Subscription Agreement. You know it,
and I know it. Therefore, your expectation – as expressed to the Japanese media –
that Xerox will come to Fujifilm with a new proposal for a combination transaction is
simply delusional. It will not happen,” he added.
Visentin shares his hopes about the potential growth opportunities in future “if Xerox were to sell products directly into the growing Asia-Pacific market with sole and exclusive use of the Xerox name and a more efficient, better managed supply chain than exists with Fuji Xerox.”
“Our focus is on running the business in the service of our thousands of customers and partners and delivering exceptional value through market-leading services, products and delivery capabilities,” added Visentin.
“Fujifilm’s actions have forced us to move forward on several fronts to protect our supply chain. First, we will start, in a material way, to source products from new vendors. Second, we will build partnerships with companies that are aligned with the Xerox mission to provide world-class technology and solutions. Third, we currently believe Xerox will be much better served by not renewing our Technology Agreement with Fuji Xerox when it expires. We will detail for our shareholders the enormous opportunity for Xerox to sell products directly into the growing Asia-Pacific market with sole and exclusive use of the valuable Xerox name, and a more efficient, better managed supply chain than exists with Fuji Xerox today.”
“Xerox is a proven technology innovator and an exceptionally resilient company; we remain steadfastly focused on creating shareholder value through our renowned innovation capabilities, globally recognized brand, and leading market presence,” Visentin concludes.
This article has been corrected for a date error on 9 July 2018.
