In what is being dubbed as an outright attempt from Xerox to overtake HP, 11 candidates have been nominated by Xerox to replace the current members of the HP board of directors.Xerox has proposed a possible merger with HP as well but HP has stood against it stating that the merger could be bad for their business. Xerox plans to nominate its candidates during the HP stakeholders meeting, which usually takes place in April. If things go as planned, Xerox well might accomplish the acquisition of HP for an estimated USD 33.5 billion.
Xerox started to push for a merger with HP last year stating that it could help both the companies save almost USD 2 billion and help them invest more in R&D. Decision makers at HP however believe otherwise owing to Xerox’s recent business developments. They stated that the company is capable enough to strike better merger deals and grow further on its own than shaking hands with a struggling Xerox company. It was also assumed by HP that the takeover bid had a lot to do with Carl Icahn as he might see this as an opportunity to maximize his profits.
Talking about commercial collaborations, HP recently joined hands with New Balance to develop personalised insoles. The collaboration also involves Superfeet, insole makers who will play a crucial roll in launching the new technology driven personalised insoles. The biometric data captured through FitStation, HP’s foot scanning tech, will be used to drive the development of these insoles. HP had begun its push into footwear personalization in 2017 with the launch of FitStation. The company has since cracked deals with Brooks Running Company, SteitzSecura, and Superfeet to gain a foothold in the market. It also managed to sign a deal with Volumental.