The announcement was made with the ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on 4 January by the company’s executive leadership team.
Xerox, which has sales of around $11bn (£9bn), will solely handle document technology, while $7bn-turnover Conduent will handle Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
Newly appointed Xerox chief executive Jeff Jacobson said this was a “historic” day for Xerox.
“The successful completion of the separation sharpens our market focus and commitment to our customers,” he said.
“I am confident the transformational actions we are implementing position Xerox for long-term success and unlocks shareholder value.”
Under the terms of separation on distribution date of 31 December 2016, Xerox shareholders received one share of Conduent common stock for every five shares of Xerox common stock they had as of close of business on 15 December 2016.
Xerox received a cash transfer from Conduent of $1.8bn, which it intends to use along with cash in hand to retire approximately $2bn in debt.
The split was confirmed in the early part of last year by the $19bn-turnover group chairman Ursula Burns, after what she described as an “extensive structural review”.
Plans were confirmed in June, a few days before it was announced Jacobson would lead Xerox post-split. Former IGATE Corporation and Infosys senior leader Ashok Vemuri will head up Conduent.
Alongside the split of the two businesses, Xerox also announced it has appointed Steve Hoover as its chief technology officer effective 1 January.
Hoover, who will report to Jacobson, will be responsible for research and product development and will oversee a number of global Xerox research centres. He replaces the outgoing Sophie Vandebroek, who retired at the end of 2016 after 25 years with the company.
Jacobson added that Hoover’s experience would provide a great foundation for building on Xerox’s “strong innovation heritage”.
Xerox’s first UK managing director Andrew Morrison began in his role on 1 January, indicating a further structural change that will see Xerox treat each country operation as a standalone business.
