Chinese officials have approved Lenovo's $2.3 billion acquisition of IBM's low-end server unit but approval by US regulators will likely take much longer given security concerns.
Lenovo Chief Executive Officer Yang Yuanqing has stated he believes that approval will happen. Lenovo hopes that by acquiring the low-end IBM server unit it will boost its profile in the Asian giant's market and deliver new arenas where it can push forward.
The greenlight from China came late Friday.
"We hope to complete the two deals by year-end," Yang said. "The U.S. government...and U.S. Army are all our clients. There has been no issue and we will keep this tradition."
The reported $2.3 billion acquistion has been in limbo for some time as the US government is investigating a number of national security issues.
The US Justice Department has charged five Chinese military officials with hacking into American companies and stealing trade secrets. The charges, brought in May, have been denied by China and has resulted in Beijing laying blame on Washington over its massive cyberspying that was brought to global attention last year by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The move will also likely see Lenovo drop the IBM brand in China as it sees its branding as a way forward in increasing its global footprint. With a number of large tech companies seeing China's massive market as a main area for expansion, with the US dragging its feet on approval, it puts makes cybersecurity a major issue that companies are now forced to deal with on an international scale, even in localized acquisitions.
