By Herman Lai, posted Jan 27, 2011 at 1:45 PM, 229 views,

Lenovo Partners Up With NEC

China’s largest PC makers Lenovo will take a step forward into the Japanese market as partnering up with Japanese NEC Co. for a “strategic alliance”. Under the terms of the deal, a new NEC Lenovo Japan Group will be formed, the joint venture will be based on Tokyo-based NEC Personal Products, which wholly owned subsidiary of NEC, with Lenovo expected to take a 51 percent stake in the partnership.

NEC will move all its PC operation to joint venture while still continue with its PC manufacturing base in the city of Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture. In which, NEC could also gain opportunities in China’s market, making use of Lenovo’s strong presence here, said by Ji at Frost & Sullivan.

Lenovo will also pad NEC’s pockets with $175 million of change and contractual formalities are expected to be completed by the end of June this year. Certain analysts foresaw a real evolution in Lenovo’s global positioning with Ji Chendong, a consultant with Frost & Sullivan in Shanghai, telling that “the deal, if achieved, is likely to help Lenovo overtake Taiwan’s Acer Group as the third largest PC manufacturer in the world, given the small gap between them now.”

Source: Engadget, ChinaBusinessNews