Office Equipment

Office landlords are in store for retail redux

19 May 2023

The vacancy rate for US buildings reached a 30-year high as fewer people return to work and companies cut costs. Retail owners had a similar sob story when e-commerce and a recession hit. A slowdown in building helped to boost rents. Office landlords could have a similar restart.

Office space slump will serve Hong Kong developers

7 Jul 2021

Record vacancies are depressing rents even as the city’s property giants lob $7 bln bids for a prime plot that will only add supply. As businesses weigh the merits of proximity to Beijing, the world’s priciest office market will gain from offering tenants some pricing power.

Xerox-HP deal is dead for now

26 Mar 2020

The smaller printer maker's hostile $35 bln offer for its rival looks even more like a fool’s errand in today's market. It would pile on debt, and HP’s resistance suggests a friendly deal won't happen. As with other pending mergers, industrial logic will still exist in a year.

Market mess may save Xerox from itself

12 Mar 2020

The fallout from Covid-19 makes the printer maker’s hostile $35 bln bid for HP even edgier – and Xerox hasn’t raised all the cash yet. If it can do so, and if volatility continues, HP owners might bite. The problem for Xerox shareholders is that could mean too much risk for them.

Which CEO should run HP-Xerox? Both, or neither

3 Mar 2020

Bosses’ egos loom large in mergers. Yet hostile bidder Xerox’s John Visentin and HP’s Enrique Lores bring complementary skills. Rationally, HP should buy Xerox, Visentin stick around to help execute the combo, and Lores run the show. Or they should both make way for new blood.

Icahn’s intrusions hurt worthwhile HP-Xerox deal

28 Feb 2020

The activist shareholder with stakes in both companies has been pushing for a merger since August, according to HP’s account of Xerox’s $35 bln hostile bid. A friendly deal still makes sense. Yet Icahn’s self-interest and influence over Xerox only make it easier for HP to say no.

HP defense makes Xerox deal more likely

24 Feb 2020

The printer maker’s comeback to Xerox’s $35 bln hostile bid hangs mainly on a planned $16 bln of payouts to shareholders. Printing sales are still falling, though, and the case for a merger with further savings remains strong. At least HP can now negotiate from a better position.

Besieged boards like HP’s must pick their poison

24 Feb 2020

Aggressive takeover defenses give boards breathing space, but don’t always help investors. Even poster child Airgas doesn’t provide a knockout case. HP’s defense against Xerox is neither the first or the worst. But most poison pills let boards ignore problems until it’s too late.

Xerox’s HP bid walks, quacks like Carl Icahn

22 Jan 2020

The printer maker may try to oust most of HP’s directors to win support for its $33 bln merger proposal. HP’s intransigence isn’t constructive, but its board is stronger. A proxy fight could leave Xerox activist Icahn in control, with only a small share of the company.

Xerox colors in its avant-garde HP outline

6 Jan 2020

The copier group now has bank commitments for $24 bln of debt for its Carl Icahn-backed $33 bln bid to buy larger rival HP. That removes one big question about a proposed deal that still seems the wrong way around. It puts pressure on HP to talk, or come up with something better.

IWG divides to conquer WeWork discount

15 Apr 2019

The office space group is selling its Japan business for 320 mln pounds. Retreating from one of its most profitable markets makes sense given the local heft of SoftBank, which is backing its $47 bln rival. A plan to offload other regions will reveal value hidden under the desk.

Icahn risks printer error on Xerox fight

22 Jan 2018

The activist wants to put the $8 bln copier company on the block. That makes sense, but torpedoing the CEO and directors during a sale does not. Icahn is also teaming up with pseudo-insider and fellow disgruntled shareholder Darwin Deason. That adds heft, but also controversy.

Xerox’s paper jam may be beyond even Icahn

11 Dec 2017

Activist Carl Icahn’s representative is leaving the board of the $7.5 bln copier company. He plans to nominate a new slate. Though his gripe is unclear, printers are having a tough time in a digital world. Short of a sale, small quibbles won’t do much.

Office Depot photocopies M&A flop

4 Oct 2017

The chain store is jumping into IT services by forking over $1 bln for CompuCom. But its attempt to diversify has a bad track record: Dell, HP and Xerox tried it and failed. The 16 pct drop in Office Depot’s value implies investors reckon the deal won’t stop flagging sales.

Konica Minolta deal helps develop clearer picture

6 Jul 2017

The Japanese company that abandoned cameras for copiers a decade ago is now putting its focus squarely on medical diagnostics. An up-to-$1 bln acquisition of Ambry Genetics alone won't assure Konica Minolta's future. It is, however, an affordable way to start changing its DNA.

Staples makes mockery of ousting CEO

1 Jun 2016

Ron Sargent is leaving weeks after antitrust concerns squelched its bid for Office Depot. The board did, at least, pay lip service to shareholders’ concerns last year about executive comp. But Sargent nets a huge pay day and remains chairman. It’s a lavish reward for failure.

Icahn Xeroxing the HP breakup playbook for Xerox

24 Nov 2015

The activist took a 7.1 pct stake in the faded technology icon, which appears to be in a state of permanent restructuring. The $10 bln copier maker has some decent assets inside a disappointing whole. Finding buyers for some, and milking others for cash, looks logical.

Staples-Office Depot spread beckons the brave

10 Sep 2015

Shares of Office Depot are trading 27 pct below the implied value of rival Staples’ $5.6 bln offer. The retail office trade is a challenged business, but with Staples down just 18 percent since January, Office Depot looks like a cheap option on the deal passing antitrust muster.

Staples-Office Depot can pass antitrust checkout

4 Feb 2015

Crunching together the two U.S. office supply chains is a financial winner: the value of the synergies alone pays for the $6.3 bln deal. Though trustbusters may squawk, even they acknowledge that with internet and big box stores thriving, the competitive landscape has changed.

Office romance gives new meaning to reverse merger

20 Feb 2013

An announcement from Office Depot needed a big glop of white-out as it disclosed a $1.2 bln deal with OfficeMax before crossing all the t’s. Typically, failings in mergers show up later rather than earlier. In this case, with everything now official, the good news is yet to come.