Posted on 03/09/2005 10:13:55 AM PST by maui_hawaii
update China's Lenovo Group now has clearance from the U.S. government for its big PC deal with IBM.
The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, a multiagency panel that evaluates acquisitions of American companies by foreign entities, unanimously approved Lenovo's plan to buy IBM's Personal Computing Division. It had been conducting a review of the deal's potential impact on national security.
IBM, which announced the agreement to sell its PC business to Lenovo in December, plans to take an 18.9 percent stake in the postdeal Lenovo, which plans to reincorporate in the United States. The deal is expected to close on time during the second quarter, IBM said Wednesday.
"We were able to get unanimous agreement from the members of the committee," Stephen Ward, general manager of IBM's Personal Systems Division, said in a telephone interview with Reuters. Ward will become chief executive of the combined company.
The new Lenovo, as executives refer to it, aims to combine its own business in China with IBM's in the rest of the world, creating a PC giant that can compete globally with Dell and Hewlett-Packard. The $1.75 billion deal with IBM would make it the world's third-largest PC maker after those other two companies. It also aims to bring Lenovo PCs, now available only in China, to the rest of the world.
The agreement was quickly approved by the U.S Federal Trade Commission. But in January the CFIUS--which is made up of 11 government agencies, including the departments of Justice and the Treasury--decided to conduct an extended review.
Scrutiny from Capitol Hill Although the proceedings are kept secret, government officials essentially wanted to speak to Lenovo executives and hear more about the company's plans, said Ward.
Earlier this year some urged the CFIUS to take a harder look. Three high-ranking members of the House of Representatives, for example, wrote a letter to the committee urging it to conduct a full investigation of the proposed sale.
"We had an opportunity to meet with leaders in virtually every executive part of the government--senators, congresspeople--they really, really listened to the strategy of the company," Ward told News.com. "It's just a matter of this was the first big
update China's Lenovo Group now has clearance from the U.S. government for its big PC deal with IBM.
The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, a multiagency panel that evaluates acquisitions of American companies by foreign entities, unanimously approved Lenovo's plan to buy IBM's Personal Computing Division. It had been conducting a review of the deal's potential impact on national security.
IBM, which announced the agreement to sell its PC business to Lenovo in December, plans to take an 18.9 percent stake in the postdeal Lenovo, which plans to reincorporate in the United States. The deal is expected to close on time during the second quarter, IBM said Wednesday.
"We were able to get unanimous agreement from the members of the committee," Stephen Ward, general manager of IBM's Personal Systems Division, said in a telephone interview with Reuters. Ward will become chief executive of the combined company.
The new Lenovo, as executives refer to it, aims to combine its own business in China with IBM's in the rest of the world, creating a PC giant that can compete globally with Dell and Hewlett-Packard. The $1.75 billion deal with IBM would make it the world's third-largest PC maker after those other two companies. It also aims to bring Lenovo PCs, now available only in China, to the rest of the world.
The agreement was quickly approved by the U.S Federal Trade Commission. But in January the CFIUS--which is made up of 11 government agencies, including the departments of Justice and the Treasury--decided to conduct an extended review.
Scrutiny from Capitol Hill Although the proceedings are kept secret, government officials essentially wanted to speak to Lenovo executives and hear more about the company's plans, said Ward.
Earlier this year some urged the CFIUS to take a harder look. Three high-ranking members of the House of Representatives, for example, wrote a letter to the committee urging it to conduct a full investigation of the proposed sale.
"We had an opportunity to meet with leaders in virtually every executive part of the government--senators, congresspeople--they really, really listened to the strategy of the company," Ward told News.com. "It's just a matter of this was the first big
Many of Lenovo's PCs, two of which IBM showed off last week at its PartnerWorld conference, have trendy features and look more like they might have been built by Apple Computer, rather than a buttoned-down company like IBM. The Tian Jino A desktop, for one, looks like 1950s radio and includes a built-in voice over Internet Protocol telephone.
Still, it won't be easy for Lenovo. Dell and HP aren't likely to cede market share willingly. Moreover, they can use any uncertainty over the Lenovo deal as lever to dislodge IBM's corporate customers, analysts have said. At the same time, despite Lenovo's fresh-looking designs and the potential for the new company to offer lower prices thanks to its greater scale, its brand name is untested outside of China.
But now, after being relatively quiet during the CFIUS review, Ward said,"we're really going to start explaining to our customer base, to our partners and to (the news media) why we're so excited about this new company."
Corporate America, and eventually America itself, seems to be heading toward being up for grabs, and Commies,I hear are thirsty for more.
Yes, we seem to have pretty much have no limitations on what a bellicose Communist country can buy at this point -- and one that is running large, hostile intelligence operations in our country -- except for actual weapons systems, and Europe is about to oblige them on that point.
I would label this as "foolish", though perhaps stronger language would be more appropriate. Certainly I don't believe that President Reagan would have approved of the Soviets being able to simply buy our computer industry -- I remember when even selling wheat was controversial, much less technological products.
You can say that again, and hope it drills into someone's mind. But my rationale tells me that this post is dead with this comment of mine. Can't you smell the disinterest in this issue? This almost gets me down to make a prayer!
Linda reminds me of the Krupps before WWI. Selling their high-end artillary to anyone, then the German army has to fight against armies using them.
For a moment, I was wondering if I knew Linda...
Disgusting sellout to the Chicoms by IBM. Previous thoughts here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1349045/posts
Looks like IBM greased the right palms, just as I predicted.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=apcdMaiF7K20
Congress members will probably receive a briefing from the U.S. Treasury Department within a week, said Rich Carter, a spokesman for Representative Don Manzullo, a Republican from Illinois.
``My boss has economic concerns about IBM selling its personal computing division to a company owned by the Chinese government,'' Carter said. ``Based on the fact that China doesn't always play by the rules, such as manipulating its currency and subsidizing companies, it could give Lenovo an unfair advantage.''
Lenovo is controlled by Legend Group, which was established in 1984 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a government institution.
lol Thank God I didn't do that on the title of a thread.
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