Sale of I.B.M. PC Unit Is a Bridge Between Companies and Cultures
By STEVE LOHR
Published: December 8, 2004
I.B.M. announced late yesterday the sale of its personal computer business to Lenovo, China's largest personal computer maker, a deal that reflects the industrial and economic ambitions of not only the two companies but also their two nations.
Under Lenovo's ownership, the I.B.M. personal computer business will continue to be based in the United States and run by its current management team. I.B.M. will take a stake of 18.9 percent in Lenovo, which is based in Beijing but plans to have headquarters in New York....
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The transaction - The Times reported late last week that I.B.M. had put its PC business up for sale - points to the rising global aspirations of corporate China as it strives to become a trusted supplier to Western companies and consumers. The sale also signals a recognition by I.B.M., the prototypical American multinational, that its own future lies even farther up the economic ladder, in technology services and consulting, in software and in the larger computers that power corporate networks and the Internet. All are businesses far more profitable for I.B.M. than its personal computer unit.
But the move signals an acknowledgment by I.B.M. that its future in China may be best served by a close partnership with a local market leader - particularly one, as in Lenovo's case, that is partly owned by the Chinese government. The chief executive of Lenovo will be Stephen M. Ward Jr., currently an I.B.M. senior vice president in charge of the PC business. Lenovo's current chief and president, Yang Yuanqing, will become Lenovo's chairman.
American companies, in one industry after another, are scrambling to take advantage of the vast potential of the Chinese market. Chinese companies like Lenovo, meanwhile, are increasingly seeking to tap into overseas markets, management expertise and technological skills....
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/08/technology/08computer.html
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