Tech Dealmaker Awards

Xerox Corp. saw a revenue river in the small to midsize market and acted on it. In May 2007, Stamford, Conn.-based Xerox paid more than $1.58 billion for Global Imaging Systems Inc., a seller of printers, copiers and electronic-presentation systems headquartered in Tampa, Fla.

Xerox likes to buy big, but it hadn’t made an acquisition of this magnitude since 2000, with the purchase of Tektronix Color Printing and Imaging Division for $950 million. And then the document giant stopped acquiring companies until just last year. In July 2006, it bought Amici LLC, an electronic services support company for legal and regulatory activities for $175 million. And in November 2006, Xerox bought XMPie, a multimedia marketing firm for $54 million.

According to Xerox, the Global Imaging purchase opens up its distribution opportunities in the fast-growing small and midsize business markets. The acquisition will also increase its small to midsize business capacity by over 50 percent, add 1,400 new salespeople and provide access to 200,000 new clients. Xerox executives at the time said they planned to keep all of the company’s employees after completing the purchase.

Global Imaging was expected to begin selling Xerox products, including its Phaser and WorkCentre printers over the summer.

Since starting up in 1994, Global Imaging Systems had acquired more than 80 firms and employees 4,500 employees. The company went public in 1998 and generates upward of $1 billion in revenue annually.

— Stephen Desantis is a freelance writer in Roxbury.

Category

Top Hardware M&A Deals Buy Side

The Deal

Xerox Corp. spent nearly $1.6 billion to buy Florida printer firm Global Imaging Systems Inc. Closed as of May 11, 2007.

Key Executives

Anne M. Mulcahy, chairman and CEO, Xerox; Lawrence A. Zimmerman, CFO, Xerox; Don H. Liu, general counsel and secretary, Xerox; Jim Firestone, president, Xerox North America.

Deal advisers

Legal: Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; Goodwin Procter LLP (Global Imaging); Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell (Global Imaging).
Financial: Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Morgan Stanley & Co Inc. (Global Imaging); Wachovia Capital Markets LLC (Global Imaging).

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