By Breakingviews
At a time when investors crave safety and predictability, a highly leveraged $35 billion hostile takeover is always going to lose its shine. Xerox's (XRX) bid for HP (HPQ) is effectively dead, at least for now. Industry consolidation can wait.
True, a falling market ought to make a mostly cash bid at a premium seem even more alluring. Xerox's offer for its printer-making rival was worth just over $21 per share on Wednesday, almost $6 above where HP's shares were trading. But those numbers are illusory. A global pandemic has wiped away one-quarter