Shareholders of Lenovo Group Ltd yesterday approved its purchase of IBM's personal-computer division -- a deal that would make the Chinese company the world's third-largest PC maker.
The companies planned to complete the US$1.75 billion deal in the second quarter, but it still faces other hurdles -- including a possible challenge by US regulators.
Shareholders approved the purchase -- one of the biggest foreign acquisitions ever by a Chinese company -- at an extraordinary general meeting.
Lenovo, Asia's biggest computer maker, is paying US$1.25 billion in cash and stock for its majority stake in the merged desktop and laptop business, while assuming US$500 million worth of debt and liabilities. Close to 57 percent of Beijing-based Lenovo's equity is held by Legend Holdings Ltd, controlled by the Chinese government.
This worries some American lawmakers, who on Wednesday urged a US government panel to investigate the national security implications of Lenovo's deal with International Business Machines Corp. The Congressmen contend that the companies' agreement might result in the Chinese government being involved in computer contracts with the US government.
The lawmakers wanted the review to be done by the US Committee on Foreign Investment, which considers security risks of foreign companies buying or investing in American businesses.
During Thursday's meeting, Lenovo's management tactfully dodged concerns raised in the US, saying the company hasn't been informed nor has it received any indications that the deal may be blocked.
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CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique