A plan to replace the chief executive officer of Xerox Corp. and several directors fell apart over a technicality, setting the stage for a proxy fight in which activist shareholders will seek to improve the terms of a deal to cede control of the iconic U.S. printer company to Japan's Fujifilm Holdings Corp., or scrap it entirely.
In a surprising turn of events Thursday night, Xerox CEO Jeff Jacobson and six other board members will now stay on, after a settlement to oust them, reached earlier in the week with Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, expired. Xerox had said Tuesday that the agreement was contingent on Deason ending his lawsuit against the company. Thursday night Xerox said "in the absence of such stipulations, the agreement expired."
Xerox and the two investors, who control more than 13 percent of the company, are battling over a proposed $6.1 billion deal that would hand control of the embattled, former U.S. office giant to Fujifilm. Xerox shares gained 1.2 percent Friday while Fujifilm fell 5.5 percent in Tokyo.