Lenovo Group moved a step closer to expanding its operations in western Europe after regulators approved its Euro466 million (HK$5.25 billion) purchase of a controlling stake in German firm Medion.
In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange yesterday, Lenovo chairman and founder Liu Chuanzhi said the deal had received 'antitrust clearance from the European Commission'.
The transaction, when completed, will mark Lenovo's biggest acquisition since it bought the personal computer business of IBM Corp for US$1.75 billion in 2005.
In a statement, the European Commission said Lenovo's acquisition of Medion was cleared after its examination found that 'the merged entity will continue to face several strong and effective competitors in the market'.
'The main impact of the proposed operation would be in the PC markets in Germany and in Denmark, in particular for desktop and portable PCs,' the Brussels-based commission said. 'However, the combined market shares of the merged entity remain moderate and it will continue to face strong and effective competitors such as Acer, HP or Asus.'
Lenovo, the world's third-largest supplier of personal computers, is also one of the mainland's major manufacturers of media tablets and smartphones. Medion has been ranked No18 among the industry's biggest personal computer suppliers by market research firm Gartner.