Lenovo, NEC Eyeing Joint Venture on PCs?
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(Reuters) - China's Lenovo Group is in talks with Japan's
NEC Corp for a joint venture in personal computers, two sources with
direct knowledge of the matter said, in a deal that would help them take
on larger global rivals.
The Nikkei business daily said
Lenovo planned to take a controlling interest in NEC's PC unit. But a
buy-out might be a delicate move as Japan eyes China's growing clout,
and sources told Reuters it was not clear what form the partnership
might eventually take.
Lenovo,
ranked fourth in the global PC market behind Hewlett-Packard, Dell Inc
and Taiwan's Acer Inc, is looking to tap NEC's technology for
development and expand its share of the Japanese market, the Nikkei
said.
NEC, which is the top maker
in Japan's mature PC market but does not rank in the top 10 globally,
would likely see the tie-up as a chance to take advantage of the
fast-growing Chinese market.
The
Japanese company, with a market value of $7.6 billion, clocked sales of
about 250 billion yen ($3 billion) from the PC business last year,
accounting for roughly 7 percent of its revenue, the Nikkei said.
"Demand
for PCs is weakening with the advent of smartphones and tablets," said
Tomomi Yamashita, fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. "As they
seek a survival strategy, it is positive that they are looking to a
growth area like Asia, rather than choosing a domestic partner."
A
spokesman for NEC declined comment. Lenovo declined to confirm the
report, but said that the company was always looking at ways to expand
its market share and talking to potential partners.
Shares
of NEC ended 2.1 percent higher, outperforming a 1.6 percent fall in
the benchmark Nikkei average. Lenovo's Hong Kong-listed shares were up
0.5 percent in a Hang Seng index down 0.4 percent.
NEC,
which controlled about 18 percent of the Japanese PC market in 2009 -
expects the PC business to post a profit in the year to March 31. Lenovo
sells around one in four PCs in its home market.
NEC-branded PCs are expected to remain on the market once the deal is concluded, the Nikkei reported.
If
the deal goes ahead, it would add to a growing trend of Chinese
companies investing in Japan Inc, despite a strong yen. In 2010,
according to Thomson Reuters data, acquisitions by Chinese firms in
Japan totaled 11.8 billion yen, 6 percent more than in 2009 and 52 times
more than in 2008.
Fukoku Capital
management's CEO Yuuki Sakurai said one reason the Chinese are
interested in buying Japanese companies is "so they won't be accused of
stealing their technologies."
"Because
they have a great amount of money in their pockets they are trying to
see which companies are good for buying and I think this is going to be a
wide-ranging wave throughout Japanese industry."
