Report: Apollo Approached Xerox

Wednesday is proving to be a busy day for Xerox Corp XRX and its shareholders.

What Happened

Xerox's stock was trading lower by more than 5 percent Wednesday morning after activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason succeeded in ousting CEO Jeff Jacobson and six of the 10 members of the board. John Visentin, an IT industry veteran and adviser to Icahn, was named the new CEO.

Why It's Important

Apollo Global Management has a close history with Xerox's new CEO, which may have prompted the buyout firm to express interest in a possible acquisition, Reuters reported. Specifically, Visentin was the ex-CEO of Novitex Enterprise Solutions and chairman of Presidio, both of which Apollo invested in.

Xerox declined to comment to Benzinga.

What's Next

There's no guarantee that Apollo would proceed with an acquisition with Xerox, Reuters said. Xerox's proposed merger with Fujifilm, which was suspended by a court order, is being challenged by the Japan-based company.

Nevertheless, Xerox's stock spiked higher on heavy volume following the Reuters report, but the stock quickly reversed and gave up most of the gains. As of 1:10 p.m. EST, shares were trading at $30.57, down 5 percent for the day.

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