Fujitsu Ltd shares yesterday soared on reports that the Japanese IT giant is considering merging its struggling personal computer division with China’s Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), the world’s biggest PC maker.
The Japanese firm’s Tokyo-listed stock surged 5.66 percent to close at ￥568.7 in response to the story in the leading Nikkei Shimbun. The paper said the merger was among a number of options that Fujitsu was considering for the money-losing unit. It did not give financial details.
In response, the conglomerate confirmed it is looking at “various possibilities including the reported move.”
No final decision had been made, it added.
However, Lenovo is considering taking a majority stake in the venture, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The two sides are still discussing pricing and terms, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
The reports by the Nikkei and other Japanese media said Fujitsu and Lenovo were aiming to reach a deal by the end of this month as Fujitsu looks to focus more on its IT services business.
Possible options include transferring Fujitsu’s PC design, development and manufacturing operations to a Lenovo-led joint venture, the Nikkei said.
A deal could see about 2,000 Fujitsu employees move over to Lenovo, it said.
Lenovo already has a PC joint venture with Japan’s NEC Corp.
An alliance with Fujitsu would give Lenovo a bigger foundation to expand its market share. Lenovo had 19.4 percent of the global PC market last year, compared with 2.1 percent for Fujitsu, according to IDC.
Japan’s PC makers have been scaling back their operations or exiting the business entirely, as more people use mobile devices to check e-mail, manage their finances and access the Web.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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