China's computer giant Lenovo and the US behemoth IBM announced Sunday that Lenovo has completed the acquisition of the PC unit of IBM, marking the birth of the third largest PC enterprise in the world.

"It's a historic event for Lenovo, which marks the start of a new era of the global PC industry," said Yang Yuanqing, chairman of the Lenovo Group.

According to Stephen Ward, chief executive officer (CEO) of Lenovo, new products will be launched in the name of the new Lenovo in weeks.

The new Lenovo, boasting the world-famous laptop brand "Thinkpad" and the well-known brand "Lenovo" in China, will cover about one third of China's PC market and hold a leading position in the world PC market.

According to the acquisition agreement signed between Lenovo Group and IBM on December 8 last year, Lenovo has paid US$1.25 billion for all the PC business of IBM, including US$650 million in cash and Lenovo's shares valued at US$600 million.

After the trade, IBM will hold 18.9 percent of Lenovo's shares and Lenovo will assume about US$500 million net debt of IBM.

The senior management team for new Lenovo comes from both sides. Yang, taking the place of Liu Chuanzhi, initiator of Lenovo, has been appointed chairman of the board of directors, while Liu takes the position of a non-executive director.

Stephen Ward, former senior vice president of IBM, also acts as director of the board.

After the acquisition deal, Lenovo's PC business is expected to have an annual income of US$13 billion with an annual sale of about 14 million PCs.

(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2005)