Hardware News

Xerox buys Tektronix division for $950m

Margaret Kane ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 23 Sep 1999 10:42 BST

In one its biggest deals ever, Xerox announced Wednesday that it would buy a division of Tektronix for $950m (£589m).

The purchase of Tektronix's colour printing and imaging division will take Xerox to the number two spot in the office colour printing market, the company said. The combined printer business will control around 30 percent of the office colour printing market according to Xerox.

The move helps strengthen Xerox in its fight against Hewlett-Packard for control of the printer market. While HP dominates the market, Xerox has been coming on strong. According to Infobeads, the market research division of Ziff-Davis, Xerox even topped HP in a survey of user loyalty.

"This is a case that embodies the concept that one plus one equals three," Tektronix CEO Jerry Meyer said in a release. Meyer said that the combination of Tektronix's products and Xerox's brand "will have a dynamic impact on the worldwide colour printer market".

Xerox said its colour printer operations would be combined with Tektronix, and will be run by Gerry Perkel, formerly president of the Tektronix division. Tektronix reported nearly $725m in sales last year for its Phaser colour laser and solid ink printer line.