A general meeting of the OEM’s stakeholders failed to result in voices in favour of Fujifilm’s acquisition, leaving the controversial merger hanging in the balance.
Fujilfilm’s hopes at resurrecting the deal now rest on appealing the injunction issued by a US court earlier this year, barring it from taking place, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Hearings will begin in September.
The injunction was issued as the result of a bitter campaign by major stakeholders Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason to prevent the deal, claiming that it devalued the American OEM. Their efforts resulted in the Supreme Court’s freezing of proceedings, and the replacement of the company’s CEO.
Nikkei Asian Review reports that “the deal was not mentioned in any of the proposals put forward on Tuesday. The sole shareholder who spoke up mentioned the acquisition, but confined his comments to issues like corporate governance and the disappointing performance of Xerox stock.”
Shares in Xerox have fallen by around 20 percent since April.
Fujifilm will now be required to appeal the Supreme Court’s injunction, by refuting claims from Xerox that it failed to share audited financial results for Fuji Xerox “in a timely manner.”
If the injunction is lifted, “Fujifilm could seek legal measures to have Xerox stick to the contract,” although CEO Shigetaka Komori recently admitted the deal was “not indispensable” to the Japanese OEM’s future growth.
