Xerox will start sourcing products from new technology vendors as part of the strategy to reduce its dependency on Fujifilm Holdings and may not renew its technology agreement with the 56-year-old joint venture Fuji Xerox, Reuters reported.
Fujifilm last week sued Xerox for over $1 billion, faulting the printer and copier company for succumbing to pressure from activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason in calling off a proposed merger agreed in January.
“Fujifilm’s actions have forced us to move forward on several fronts to protect our supply chain,” Xerox said in a statement.
Fuji Xerox, 75:25 joint venture between Japan’s Fujifilm and Xerox, handles contracts that supply global clients with Xerox services in the United States and Europe, as well as Fuji Xerox services in Asia.
Moreover, Xerox no longer builds its own office copiers, instead relying mostly on Fuji Xerox.
Fujifilm CEO Shigetaka Komori said earlier this month that Xerox depends on Fuji Xerox to produce almost all of the U.S. firm’s copier machines and, unlike Xerox, the company can grow on its own.
