Economy

Markets

Industries

Insights

Reports

Events

Reports: Lenovo offers $833m for Positivo

By Wang Xing (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-12 11:52

Chinese PC maker Lenovo has offered $833 million (2 billion reais) for the acquisition of Brazil's largest PC maker Positivo Informatica, local media reported.

Business News Americas, in a report citing the Brazil newspaper Folha de S Paulo, stated that Positivo Informatica's directors would be interested in selling the company for at least 3 billion reais, down from the previously expected 4.7 billion reais due to the high rate of exchange for the US dollar and the devaluation of the company's shares,.

Positivo Informatica said in a filing that it was willing to consider any proposals which may be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. US computer giant Dell has also reportedly shown interest in buying the Brazilian company, the report said.

Lenovo confirmed in a statement yesterday that the company has had preliminary discussions with independent third parties regarding potential investment opportunities and acquisitions. But they did not guarantee any definitive agreement.

The deal, if successful, could be Lenovo's largest overseas acquisition since it bought IBM's PC arm in 2005.

The possible acquisition of Positivo Informatica was first reported on Wednesday, when Estado de S. Paulo said Lenovo is bidding for the Brazilian company after its executives visited Positivo Informatica's headquarters in the southern city of Curitiba.

The acquisition could help Lenovo speed up its expansion in the emerging market at a time when PC markets in other major developed countries are slowing due to the financial crisis.

Last year, Lenovo tried to acquire the European computer maker Packard Bell but the effort was foiled by Acer's takeover of the US PC maker Gateway. The Taiwan-based Acer later replaced Lenovo as the world's third largest computer maker.