Fujifilm threatens to compete against Xerox if partnership not renewed

Fujifilm Holdings' logos are pictured ahead of its news conference in Tokyo, Japan January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

(Reuters) - Fujifilm Holdings Corp <4901.T> on Wednesday threatened to compete against Xerox Corp <XRX.N> in Asia-Pacific and challenge it in America and Europe if it failed to renew its technology agreement in 2021.

Xerox had said on Monday it would start sourcing products from new vendors to lower its dependency on Fujifilm and may not renew the agreement with the 56-year-old joint venture Fuji Xerox.

In a letter to Xerox's newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, John Visentin, Fujifilm CEO Shigetaka Komori said, "While Xerox presently has no marketing facilities here in Asia- Pacific, we have global infrastructure that we can utilize for marketing worldwide."

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Xerox company is seen on a building in Minsk, Belarus, March 21, 2016. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko/File Photo

"It would be enormously costly and difficult for Xerox to gain business in Asia Pacific."

Fuji Xerox, 75 percent owned by Japan's Fujifilm and rest by Xerox, handles contracts that supply global clients with Xerox services in the United States and Europe, as well as Fuji Xerox services in Asia.

Xerox was not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.

(Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)