Friday, Xerox Corp. (XRX) shareholders approved the company's acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS). Earlier, Xerox announced its decision to buy Affiliated Computer Services in a cash and stock deal valued at $6.4 billion.
The transaction is expected to be completed shortly. More than 96% of Xerox common shareholders voted for the acquisition.
More than 86% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of ACS Class A and Class B stock voted for the acquisition. The deal was earlier approved by the boards of Xerox and ACS and by an ACS special committee.
Xerox is valuing ACS at $63.11. ACS shareholders stand to get $18.60 in cash and 4.935 Xerox shares for each ACS share. Xerox has also agreed to purchase ACS' $2 billion debt.
The company said that the acquisition Xerox would transform itself into a services company with a focus on business process management and outsourcing. The company said that by combining Xerox's strengths in document technology and ACS's expertise in managing and automating work processes they were creating a new class of solution providers. The company also stands to benefit from ACS's presence in Europe, Asia and South America.
On closure of the deal, Xerox hopes to save $300 million to $400 million annually in the first three years by curtailing back office, procurement, and other costs related.
Xerox termed ACS the "world's largest diversified business process outsourcing firm," and noted that the company has a revenue growth of 6% and new business signings of $1 billion in annual recurring revenue this fiscal.
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, said, "Our shareholders' vote of confidence reflects the strategic and financial benefits of this acquisition. Through the acquisition of ACS, Xerox gains a growth catalyst that secures a strong, competitive future for our company and increasing value for our customers and shareholders."
XRX closed Friday's regular trading session at $8.47, down $0.18 or 2.08%, on a volume of 24.25 million shares and ACS closed at $59.64, down $1.39 or 2.28%, on a volume of 4.89 million shares, both on the NYSE. In after-market trading XRX shares further fell $0.12 or 1.42% to $8.35, while ACS shares rose $0.16 or 0.27% to $59.80.
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