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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Xerox’s 2009 agreement to buy Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) was a move to expand beyond document technology into business-process management and outsourcing—not evidence that the company formally abandoned printing or declared a “paperless office” policy. The acquisition was announced at $6.4 billion and completed in February 2010.
What Xerox agreed to buy—and when
On September 28, 2009, Xerox and ACS announced a definitive agreement for Xerox to acquire ACS in a cash-and-stock transaction. The announced value was $63.11 per ACS share, or $6.4 billion using Xerox’s closing share price on September 25, 2009. The consideration was $18.60 in cash plus 4.935 Xerox shares for each ACS share. The joint announcement and filed FAQ describe the terms.
Shareholders of both companies approved the acquisition on February 5, 2010, and Xerox announced that it had completed the deal on February 8, 2010. Those dates mark approval and closing; they are distinct from the 2009 announcement and its valuation. Xerox’s closing announcement confirms completion.
Why Xerox said ACS fit its strategy
Xerox presented the acquisition as a way to combine its document technology and services with ACS’s capabilities in managing and automating work processes. The stated aim was to build a global business in document and business-process management and broaden Xerox’s presence in business-process outsourcing (BPO). This was management’s rationale for the deal, not proof that its growth expectations or anticipated synergies were later achieved. The 2009 announcement sets out that rationale.
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What ACS brought to the combination
ACS provided outsourced services for businesses and public-sector organizations, including data processing, human-resources benefits management, finance support, customer relationship management and information-technology outsourcing. Examples in the company FAQ included processing credit-card applications, customer-care operations, electronic toll collections and Medicaid claims. Xerox’s completion release lists service areas, while the filed FAQ gives examples of ACS work.
What the companies projected
In the 2009 announcement, Xerox said its services revenue was $3.5 billion in 2008 and estimated it would reach $10 billion in 2010 after the acquisition; it also projected $22 billion in combined revenue. These were company estimates and forecasts at announcement, not independently verified results. The same FAQ described ACS as a $6.5 billion business with 6 percent revenue growth in fiscal 2009. The filed announcement and FAQ identify those figures and their context.
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Did Xerox throw away the paperless-office vision?
The “recycling bin” framing is a metaphor, not a documented Xerox policy change. A Xerox release announcing the acquisition’s completion quoted Angele Boyd, then IDC group vice president and general manager for document solutions, saying: “Xerox is working aggressively toward becoming more focused on information management and business processes and less reliant on printed documents.” The statement was Boyd’s assessment, quoted by Xerox—not a direct statement by Xerox CEO Ursula Burns. The February 8, 2010 release provides the attribution.
That quote supports a shift in emphasis toward information management and business processes. It does not establish that Xerox gave up on printing or formally adopted or reversed a policy called the “paperless office.” The more precise reading is that Xerox sought to add services and process-management work to its document-focused business.
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