By Simon London in San Francisco, Mure Dickie in Beijing and Justine Lau and Francesco Guerrera in Hong Kong
Lenovo, China''s largest computer supplier, is to buy the personal computer unit of International Business Machines of the US in a US$1.75bn deal that is the biggest overseas acquisition by a Chinese technology company.
The sale means Lenovo will replace IBM as the world''s third biggest personal computer supplier and marks the US company''s exit from a market it created with the launch of the first IBM PC in 1981.
The deal will quadruple Lenovo''s sales to over US$12bn, allow it to use IBM''s brand under licence for five years and give it control of the Think trademark used on IBM''s popular range of business laptops.
Yang Yuanqing, company president, said it would pave the way for Lenovo to challenge global market leaders Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard (HP). “We are not satisfied to be only number three,” Mr Yang said.
Lenovo will pay $650m in cash, up to $600m in shares - giving IBM an 18.9 per cent stake - and shoulder $500m in debt. Analysts said the relatively low price put on a unit with sales of US$9bn reflected its low profitability.
It is understood that US private equity fund Texas Pacific Group was Lenovo''s fiercest rival for the IBM business, which had been quietly for sale for nearly three years.
People close to the deal said TPG offered some $100m less, all in cash, but IBM opted for Hong Kong-listed Lenovo''s offer in part because it wanted to retain a stake in the business. They said Lenovo would list in the US within a year to reflect its new global operations.
The sale of such an iconic business underlines the shift of the increasingly commoditised PC business toward China. While IBM now wants to focus on lucrative services, Lenovo executives cited the businesses'' gross margins of 20 per cent as part of its appeal. Lenovo''s gross margins, under pressure in China from local and foreign rivals, are under 15 per cent.
Analysts have warned of the difficulties Lenovo faces in managing a major foreign business and in retaining IBM''s customers and employees.
However, Lenovo has moved to minimise such risks by appointing IBM senior vice president Stephen Ward as CEO, moving its head office to New York and retaining IBM as preferred supplier of after-sales service outside China.
The five-year transition to reliance on the Lenovo brand should help retain customer loyalty.
Lenovo outsources production of laptops and IBM uses contract manufacturers for its PCs - allowing cost-saving synergies - but both sides played down the impact on suppliers and employees.
“Lenovo has given a firm commitment that it will match the type of competitive compensation packages that IBM offers,” Mr Ward told the FT, adding no job losses were expected.
“For the moment we plan to continue the current business situation. For the first step, we need to maintain stability,” Mr Yang said in a separate interview.
IBM''s competitors predicted the deal would fail. “When was the last time you saw a successful merger or acquisition in the computer industry? It hasn''t happened in a long, long time,” said Michael Dell, chairman of the world''s largest PC maker.
Merrill Lynch advised IBM and Goldman Sachs advised Lenovo.
中国最大的电脑供应商联想(Lenovo)宣布以17.5亿美元的价格，收购美国国际商用机器(IBM)的个人电脑部门。这一交易是中国技术公司最大的一笔海外收购。
这笔中国公司的最大海外收购协议墨迹未干，银行家和投资者已开始揣测，联想和IBM之间的这笔交易是否是中国并购市场一个新时代的开端。
该交易带给联想的远不止“蓝色巨人”的个人电脑业务。联想已成为首家收购全球驰名品牌的中国国有控股公司，且这样一桩交易引人注目，而且在心理上也意味着一次冒险。
与此前中国公司的多数跨国交易不同，联想收购IBM的业务，不是因为政府的命令或收购自然资源的宏观经济需求。
这家中国公司之所以敲定这一交易，是因为公司需要进入全球顶尖企业的行列，并缓冲国内市场增强的竞争压力。
一些专家认为，这是中国公司日益成熟的迹象。
“如果有人仍对中国公司是全球并购舞台上的严肃参与者心存任何疑问，那么那些疑问现在已被完全驱散，”瑞士信贷第一波士顿(CSFB)亚洲(除日本外)并购负责人科林•班菲尔德(Colin Banfield)表示。
一些公司已走上联想的道路，虽然交易规模稍小。
电子产品公司TCL去年收购了法国电视机制造商汤姆森(Thomson)，然后在同法国阿尔卡特(Alcatel)合资的手机公司中取得多数股权。京东方科技(BOE Technology)去年以3.8亿美元的价格，收购了韩国现代半导体(Hynix Semiconductor)的液晶显示器部门。
“（联想的这笔交易）是中国公司寻求国际品牌和市场这一趋势的延续，”摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)执行董事埃德•金(Ed King)表示。摩根士丹利担任TCL的交易顾问。
过去4年里，中国企业进行的跨国境并购交易总额仅80亿美元，因此目前的疑问是，其它中国企业是否会仿效联想，增加并购交易的流量和额度。
怀疑人士认为，中国具有联想和TCL这种质量的企业实在太少。
“我认为这笔交易不会扭转势头，”瑞银(UBS)中国研究部门联席主管张化桥(Joe Zhang)说，“联想和TCL属于中国规模最大、质量最好的公司。能做到这一点的其它公司又有多少呢？”
中国有许多行业具有高增长前景，这也将限制跨境交易的达成。
中国的个人电脑业一直受困于利润率的下降和厂家过多。但就其它消费和工业部门而言，中国企业几乎无法跟上国内增长。就连像白色家电制造商海尔(Haier)这样立志向国外扩张的企业，迄今也是将重点放在更接近国内的、更易于取得实效的市场上。
联想和IBM的收购谈判长达约18个月。其耗时之长表明，即使是中国最好的企业，也仍然没有培育出达成交易的“杀手”本能。最近，国有金属集团中国五矿(Minmetals)竞标收购竞争对手诺兰达(Noranda)，但没能成功，原因是公司无法在独家谈判期限到期前达成交易。
“中国企业可能比较官僚，害怕做出最终决定。管理层还是缺少敲定交易的经验，”驻香港的一位银行家说。
