Xerox Holdings Corp. wants to convince HP Inc.’s shareholders that its proposed $33.5 billion hostile takeover of the company is a good idea.

Today,  Norwalk, Connecticut-based Xerox released an investor presentation in which it makes the case for a deal to happen.

The printer and copier maker said it’s willing to offer $17 per HP share along with a 48% ownership in the combined company if shareholders give their blessing. Xerox argues that the combined company’s stock could be worth as much as $31 a share on a pro forma basis, more than 50% higher than the price at which HP is currently trading. 

The printer and copier maker hopes to deliver these gains by boosting sales, among other actions. Xerox’s leadership argues that merging with HP would make it possible to deliver revenue growth of $1 billion to $1.5 billion in three years through tactics such as cross-selling products to one another’s customers. That promise comes on top of Xerox’s earlier pledge of more than $2 billion in annual cost savings, which it plans to achieve by consolidating information technology operations and implementing other expense-trimming measures.

“The value of the transaction goes beyond economics,” Xerox Chief Executive Officer John Visentin said in the presentation. He added that joining forces will enable the companies to ward off the headwinds in the low-growth printer and copier market more effectively.

“In consolidating industries, first movers not only win but also have an opportunity to reshape the competitive landscape in an enduring way,” he said. Visentin will reportedly start meeting with HP shareholders this week to garner support for the takeover.

Xerox’s acquisition bid already has the backing of one prominent shareholder: activist hedge fund manager Carl Icahn. Icahn, who owns more than 4% of HP’s stock and is the biggest investor in Xerox with a nearly 11% stake, has publicly called for the companies to merge.

But the HP leadership thus far remains unconvinced. The board of directors turned down Xerox’s buyout bid last month, saying that its $33.5 billion offer, which breaks down to $22 per share, undervalues HP. 

Photo: Xerox