Similar to the path recently taken by Hewlett-Packard (HP), Xerox (US) has announced it intends to separate into two independent publicly-traded companies.

The two new divisions will focus separately on business process outsourcing (BPO) and document technology.

Xerox is a 25% shareholder in Fuji-Xerox, its long term joint operation with Fujifilm Holdings in the Asia-Pacific region. The impact of the Xerox  (US) split on this joint venture, the world's longest running joint venture between a Japanese and an American company (Wikipedia), is not immediately clear.

The separation, expected to be complete by end of 2016, aims to create a $US11 billion Document Technology company and $US7 billion Business Process Outsourcing company. The company claims it will deliver $US2.4 billion in savings over next 3 years across both companies

“Today Xerox is taking further affirmative steps to drive shareholder value by announcing it will  separate into two strong, independent, publicly traded companies,” said Ursula Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox. “These two companies will be well positioned to lead in their respective rapidly evolving markets and capitalize on the opportunities that now exist to expand margins and increase market share.”

“I am confident that the extensive structural review we conducted over the last few months has produced the right path forward for our company. We will now position the companies for success and execute our plan to separate them in the shortest possible timeframe while continuing to focus on achieving our 2016 goals,” added Burns.

Founded in 1906, Xerox spawned the famed Palo Alto Research Center, where many modern computing technologies such as the graphical user interface (GUI), laser printing, WYSIWYG text editors and Ethernet were developed.