Potential IBM deal to lift Lenovo into x86 server top ranks
Purchase of server business by second-largest supplier of personal computers would propel Chinese firm into top ranks of that industry
A potential deal by Lenovo to buy part of International Business Machines' server business could propel the Chinese technology giant into a global player in that segment of the computer industry, analysts say.
That acquisition is also forecast to trigger a lengthy investigation by the United States government.
There has been speculation since April that the firm, the world's second-largest supplier of personal computers, is in talks to purchase the IBM division that makes and sells commodity x86-standard servers, which are the low-cost, general-purpose corporate computers used to run business applications and which serve as the basic hardware inside data centres.
Alberto Moel, a senior analyst at Bernstein Research, said in a report published yesterday that purchasing the IBM x86 server business "would be transformational for Lenovo", putting it on the fast track to be the mainland's biggest server supplier and a major international player by 2016.
In contrast, Lenovo's bid to establish a smartphone joint venture - with Japanese firm NEC, according to the rumour - is not expected to lift the computer maker into the top-tier of handset brands in a way that will challenge Samsung Electronics and Apple.
Lenovo chairman and chief executive Yang Yuanqing announced last month that the company wanted to become a "global player" in servers and storage systems over the next three years.