IBM, Lenovo PC Deal Passes U.S. Review

From Extreme Tech: IBM, Lenovo PC Deal Passes U.S. Review


"China's Lenovo Group Ltd. won clearance from a U.S. national security oversight committee to acquire IBM's personal computer business, the companies said on Wednesday, overcoming resistance from some U.S. lawmakers.
An IBM executive said the high-level U.S. committee had given the deal its unanimous consent— the final external approval needed— putting the $1.25 billion PC sale on track to close in the second quarter as originally planned."

The merger of Lenovo and IBM's personal computer business will create the world's third largest PC maker.

"The deal met unexpected resistance when some U.S. lawmakers began decrying the loss of a U.S.-based PC maker to China, and officials whispered that Chinese nationals working for Lenovo in the United States might act as industrial spies."

"Rival PC makers such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. have been seeking to woo corporate PC customers away from IBM by citing the regulatory overhang as well as uncertainty over Lenovo's future PC product strategy. "

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