July 8, 2002 -- (WhatTheyThink.com) -- Xerox plans to seek shareholder approval to increase its number of shares by 66 percent. This would have the effect of helping Xerox fund maturing debt according to Reuters. Xerox has filed a proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company’s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for Sept. 9 in Stamford, Connecticut. The statement says that Xerox believes it should have “sufficient authorized but unissued shares for issuance in order to access the capital markets by offering shares of common stock or other securities exchangeable or convertible into shares of common stock for cash.” The proxy also said that “although no specific transactions have been arranged, management intends to access the capital markets opportunistically as soon as practicable for the purpose of funding debt maturities.'' It could be used in connection with equity for debt exchanges, employee benefit plans, mergers and acquisitions, stock splits, stock dividends and other business purposes.