Lenovo Buys Up Majority of Fujitsu’s PC Business

After years of attempted mergers over the years, Fujitsu has found a buyer for their PC business. Fujitsu is a major player in the Japanese market but holds little marketshare elsewhere. Due to the limited market, the economies of scale were not kicking in. This is why the Japanese firm is working with Lenovo and the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) in a joint venture selling PC’s in Japan.

The partnership between Lenovo, Fujitsu, and the DBJ will give each 51%, 44% and 5% interest respectively. The Chinese firm is shelling out at least $156.42 million for this deal. If the business goes well, the Chinese firm will shell out up to $223.4 million. Interestingly, Fujitsu will continue their corporate PC business which is more profitable. As part of the deal, all Fujitsu PC manufacturing will continue to be done in Japan.

Lenovo Will Dominate Japanese PC Market

With this move, Lenovo will hold about 40% of the Japan PC market. This includes NEC which Lenovo purchased earlier. This leaves VAIO as the only independent Japanese PC maker of any scale. This also scuttles any remaining hope that VAIO had to merge with Toshiba and Fujitsu. It is unlikely the Chinese firm will pick up any more market share due to anti-trust concerns. It may also provide an incentive for VAIO and Toshiba to merge.

For now, Lenovo, NEC and Fujitsu will remain on the market, giving an appearance of competition. The move should help Lenovo resecure the spot of top PC manufacturer. The Chinese firm is doing quite well for itself but got hurt by poor US sales recently. HP is currently the top dog in the PC market. As the PC market continues to face more pressure, there will do doubt be more mergers in the future as the market consolidates.