Why Xerox Shares Gained 86.6% in 2019

What a strange year Xerox (NYSE: XRX) had in 2019. The office equipment maker's stock rose 86.6% last year, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, but it was anything but a smooth climb.

Xerox shares rose 43% in January, lifted by a generally positive market trend and a strong fourth-quarter report. Xerox also saw analyst firm Citi's arguing that the company might be an attractive buyout target, having proven that its turnaround efforts were bearing fruit.

That prediction felt ironic in November, as Xerox launched a buyout bid of its own for much larger rival HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ). In a mostly debt-powered offer of approximately $22 per HP share, Xerox hoped to create a titanic seller of workstations, printers, and copiers. HP's board of directors rejected the offer, saying that it undervalued HP significantly. But Xerox has not abandoned the original deal, turning it into a hostile takeover process instead. Last week, the company secured $24 billion of financing from a consortium of global banks, reassuring HP's investors that Xerox will be able to make the proposed payments.

Source Fool.com