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)
