US: Carl Icahn backs $33B Xerox and HP mega-merger

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is pushing for a US$33 billion mega-merger between printing firms Xerox and HP after buying up stakes in both businesses.

The 83-year-old hedge fund manager sees the deal between the two legacy technology firms as a “no-brainer”, he told the Wall Street Journal.

Mr Icahn owns 10% of Xerox, the US printer and photocopier maker, and has also built up a stake of about 4% in HP, which makes PCs as well as printers.

The activist, who is worth more than US$17 billion, has previously engaged in corporate and boardroom battles with US technology firms. 

He sued PC maker Dell in 2013 over its plans for a US$24 billion take-private deal, secured an improved offer, and last year publicly opposed Dell a second time over plans for a share buyback and deal to go public. Mr Icahn has also made substantial profits on stakes in Apple and Netflix.

Connecticut-based Xerox, which is worth about US$8.3 billion, is already in talks to acquire the much larger HP that has a market cap of nearly US$30 billion.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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