Money talks. Xerox got the needed funding to acquire HP. History tells that shareholders' more than welcome this kind of short term gain for them, so it's now just a matter of time. Any move on HP side to block it will be driven solely for seeking the survival of the top layers. They don't give a — — about the Company technical roadmap, legacy, etc. Enrique and his VPs will execute whatever strategy works best for them as it relates to their individual termination/exit packages.
Needless to say there will be tons of layoffs a few months after the acquisition is done. To be very honest, I'm surprised it took so long for HP to be months away of disappearing. History will repeat itself once again. A lot of employees will take a 'wait & see' approach, so the ones that leave now (or are terminated first) will have an advantage on getting new jobs with better terms before thousands get forced to go out and then the market dictates the big pay cut they are going to get by being late to the job market game. It's amazing how many people will never learn...