Xerox announced that it will acquire Global Imaging Systems, Inc. ("GIS") a value added reseller (or VAR).  Xerox is paying over $1.5 billion in an all cash deal. 

What They Are Thinking

Currently GIS sells predominately Ricoh, Sharp, and Konica Minolta products.  They sell typically to small and medium businesses (SMB's)- with over 200,000 customers.  Xerox, on the other hand, is making a concerted effort to court the SMB market. 

Adding GIS to their line up gives them a quick outlet to 200,000 customers that they would otherwise take years to grow into.  Expect GIS to immediately start to push a wide range of Xerox lines- both bolstering sales and building margin back into their lineup.

Any misteps likely?  Plenty.  With GIS selling competing product lines, there is a significant likelihood of channel conflict with other OEM's.  Beyond that- it appears that Xerox's own sales teams will be competing against the multi-line GIS. 

Yes, this should be fun to watch.