ARMONK, N.Y. & BEIJING — March 9, 2005 — IBM and Lenovo today announced completion of the review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), clearing the way to complete the sale of IBM’s Personal Computing Division to Lenovo.
The CFIUS review was concluded in advance of the statutory deadline.
“Lenovo is committed to being a great corporate citizen. Working cooperatively with CFIUS is an example of what you should expect of Lenovo, a company that is committed to customers, employees, and communities,” said Steve Ward, currently an IBM senior vice president and the general manager of IBM’s Personal Systems Group, who will serve as the chief executive officer of Lenovo. “The new Lenovo will be an innovative, international PC company, delivering the best PCs in the industry.
“With the review by the U.S. government complete, IBM and Lenovo are moving quickly to integrate the two companies and expect to finalize the transaction in the second quarter, as planned, while continuing to provide customers with world-class PC products and services.”
Earlier this month, Lenovo announced the industry-leading management team — comprising both IBM’s and Lenovo’s existing senior executives and technology managers — who will lead the new company. These executives are working with customers, suppliers, and partners. A recent survey of more than 4,000 customers showed that more than 90 percent were favorably disposed towards Lenovo and the transaction generally.
“The completion of this process is an important step forward for Lenovo. We are committed to working with the highest level of integrity in every community. This is a standard that both Lenovo and IBM have held for decades. Now we are moving quickly to deliver the benefits of the new Lenovo to PC customers worldwide,” said Yuanqing Yang, the current chief executive officer of Lenovo, who will become chairman of the company when the transaction closes. “Lenovo is poised to become an exciting new global competitor in the personal computer market.”
As part of the strategic business alliance between IBM and Lenovo, IBM will provide sales support and demand generation services for Lenovo products through IBM’s existing enterprise sales force of approximately 30,000 professionals, and through IBM.com. Lenovo products will also be sold through IBM PC specialists who will join Lenovo. IBM Global Financing and IBM Global Services, the number-one IT services organization in the world with powerful existing enterprise channels, will be the preferred providers to Lenovo for leasing and financing services, and for warranty and maintenance services, respectively.
About IBM IBM is the world’s largest information technology company. For more information about IBM, please visit www.ibm.com .
About Lenovo Lenovo Group Limited (HKSE: 992; ADR: LNVGY) is a leading IT enterprise in China. The Group engages primarily in the manufacturing and sale of desktop computers, notebook computers, mobile handsets, servers and peripherals in China. Lenovo brand PCs have been the best-seller in China for eight consecutive years, commanding a 26.3 percent unit share in China’s PC market in 2004. Lenovo PCs also ranked number one in the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) market with a 12.2 percent market share in 2004 (source: IDC).
Lenovo was listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 1994 and is currently a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Index and the MSCI China Free Index. Its American Depositary Receipts are traded in the United States. In March 2004, Lenovo joined The Olympic Partner Program of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the first Chinese company to become the computer technology equipment partner of the IOC for the period from 2005 to 2008. In December 2004, Lenovo and IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire IBM’s global desktop computer and notebook computer business. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2005. For more information, please visit www.lenovo.com .
