Updated on March 27, 2025 (2:30 p.m.)—China-based Ninestar Corporation plans to sell printer and printing software maker Lexmark to Xerox in a deal estimated at up to $150 million (USD): a fraction of the price Xerox disclosed in December, Reuters is reporting. Ninestar said in an exchange filing on today (26 March 2025) that it has estimated the transaction price to range from $75 million to $150 million, based on Lexmark’s latest operational status.
Xerox said last December it had agreed to buy Lexmark in a deal valued at $1.5 billion, ten times more than the present estimate. Xerox had expected the deal to immediately aid profit and deliver more than $200 million in annual cost savings, including by helping cut marketing and real estate expenses, the December 2024 announcement showed.
Formed out of IBM in 1991, Lexmark International was sold to a group of Chinese investors in a $3.6 billion deal in 2016.
On Thursday, however, Norwalk, Connecticut-based Xerox insisted that valuation information previously reported about the terms of the deal is, indeed, factually correct. “Following recent media reports regarding the terms of the Xerox acquisition of Lexmark International, Inc., we reaffirm that the transaction remains valued at $1.5 billion, as announced in December 2024,” reads an official company statement. “This figure includes debt and other liabilities, as publicly disclosed in Xerox U.S. regulatory filings at the time of the announcement. The terms of the deal, as communicated by Xerox, remain accurate and unchanged. For further details, please refer to the company’s official announcement and regulatory filings.”
When asked for more clarification, Xerox responded: “In December 2024, Xerox announced it had agreed to acquire Lexmark International, Inc., from Ninestar Corporation, PAG Asia Capital, and Shanghai Shouda Investment Centre in a deal valued at $1.5 billion. As stated in the announcement, the figure is inclusive of debt and other liabilities,” explained company spokesman Justin Capella. “While Xerox cannot comment on Ninestar’s internal valuation, it appears they are referring to an equity value that excludes this debt and other liabilities, which were publicly disclosed within the U.S. regulatory filing Xerox made when the deal was announced.”
