(Reuters) - Activist investor Carl Icahn said on Tuesday Xerox Corp (N:XRX) "desperately" needed new leadership, arguing that the printer manufacturer was slow to launch new products and grow revenue.
Icahn's remarks, in an open letter to Xerox shareholders, come a day after he named four nominees to the company's board of directors.
The nominations followed the resignation of Jonathan Christodoro, whom Icahn placed on Xerox's board last June. Christodoro had a difference of opinion with the board.
On Monday, Xerox backed its yearly earnings forecast and highlighted the 30 percent increase in its stock price this year as a sign of investor confidence.
"To be clear, the primary reason Xerox stock is up 30 percent year-to-date is the Conduent spin-off that I spent over a year fighting for," Icahn said in the letter.
Xerox split itself in two last year, spinning off its business process outsourcing unit into Conduent Inc (N:CNDT).