Lenovo Buys Control Of IBM's PC Making Business

BEIJING, CHINA - DECEMBER 8: (CHINA OUT) Lenovo Chairman Liu Chuanzhi (L) sits with John Joyce, Senior Vice-President and Group Executive of IBM Global Services, at a news conference on December 8, 2004 in Beijing, China. China's largest personal computer maker, Lenovo Group Ltd., said on Wednesday it is buying control of IBM's PC-making business for USD 1.25 billion, capping the U.S. tech giant's gradual withdrawal from the business it helped pioneer in 1981. The agreement, which forms the world's third largest PC business, calls for Lenovo to pay IBM USD 650 million in cash, USD 600 million in Lenovo Group common stock and for Lenovo to assume USD 500 million in net balance sheet liabilities from IBM. (Photo by China Photos/GettyImages)