> in return for giving Xerox the _opportunity_ to invest in Apple, wow

You're being sarcastic but this would have been the most lucrative thing Xerox ever did in its entire corporate life, by far, if it had held onto the stock. This was a really good deal in hindsight. Indeed, it would have been better to liquidate Xerox and put all the proceeds into Apple stock; I don't think anybody argues that Xerox could have made as much hay as Apple did with the technology, even in the best of scenarios. It couldn't have known that at the time, of course.