Feng Yu was looking at Bing City Machinery Manufacturing Group's financial report when he received a call from Liu Chuanzhi.
"Old Liu, what's up?" Feng Yu asked.
This call must be about Lenovo Group or Lenovo Kingsoft. If it's about other subsidiaries, Liu Chuanzhi and Zong Qingxian can discuss it.
"General Manager Feng, do you still remember when I said I want to acquire IBM's PC business?"
"I remember. Didn't the other party refuse to sell? We had wanted to pay with cash and shares, but they still refused. What's wrong? You still want to buy? "
After acquiring IBM, Lenovo will get some good technologies and brands like THINK. With IBM's sales channels and factories, Lenovo will become the world's top PC manufacturer. This will happen much earlier than Feng Yu's previous life.
But there are also disadvantages. IBM's PC business is not making much profits and is still in debt. Before Lenovo Group acquires IBM, the other party will use this opportunity to transfer some of their debts to their PC business to reduce IBM's debt.
IBM's focus had shifted from hardware to software. They had sold their PC division, but they will not sell their hardware. They will switch from PC production to design. This will lower their cost and will not have to worry about the impact of falling PC prices.
Currently, IBM and Apple are the most expensive PC companies. Once the PC prices fall again, it will affect their profits and might even incur losses.
"General Manager Feng, I really want to acquire it. Also, the other party had contacted me first, and they seem sincere. We have the upper hand, and there should be no harm in negotiating. "
Liu Chuanzhi had been eyeing IBM's PC business. Now, this opportunity is in front of him, and he can't let it go. During his time, IBM was the leader of the world's PC industry, or rather, the leader of the entire IT industry.
It's an honor to acquire IBM, even if it's only one business.
Feng Yu reminded Liu Chuanzhi. "Old Liu, did you think IBM is the world's PC leader in the past? Are you thinking that if we acquire their business, it will be like we have risen, and it will feel like we are the masters? "
"Old Liu, it is possible for you to acquire IBM's PC business. But I have to remind you that IBM's PC business is no longer the market leader. They are not even as good as us now. Their product designs are old, and they are guarding some patents. They haven't licensed their products to others to make money, and they haven't been able to use their patents to stop other manufacturers. "
"Their PC business is going downhill. You have to be clear about this. Don't think that just because IBM still has a lot of orders, we will be able to make money. Think about it. Many of IBM's orders are from the US government and large corporations. Try to recall. After Lenovo developed its own PC, did our government still purchase IBM's PC? "
"It's not impossible to open a backdoor program on the computer to monitor and steal information, right? Why must our country create Lenovo? It is for computer security. Would the US not consider this point? When IBM's PC business enters our hands, do you think those governments will continue to order from us? "
"If we acquire IBM's PC business, their orders will surely shrink. IBM's product design concept is different from our Lenovo Group. They focus on office work, and we focus on entertainment. Although acquiring them will make up for the gap in our PC technologies, how much can it do? "
"The most cost-effective way is to purchase IBM's technology that we want. As for their factories, we don't need them. We also don't need their sales channels. We don't need their brands either. There are benefits to managing multiple brands at the same time, but there are also disadvantages. "
"Do you remember what I told you about the automobile companies? They have too many brands, and their brands are too scattered. That's why their marketing is not focused, and their brands are not connected. That's why their sales and profits are dropping, and the Japanese and European companies are taking over the market. "
"Now, we are using different series to differentiate our products, and we are targeting different user groups. This is enough. We can buy the new technologies, upgrade our products, and introduce a new series. There is no need for us to manage our brands, especially IBM. They will not sell us their entire brand. At most, they will only authorize us to use it. "
"We are selling their products and helping them to market their brand. This way, Lenovo will become an OEM. Also, IBM is no longer the IBM of the past. Although we are not more than them in terms of assets, our influence is on par with them. "
"Also, with this PC business, we can catch up and surpass them faster! That's why my suggestion is not to buy IBM's PC business. We can buy some of their patented technologies. If you insist on buying, I will not agree to give IBM Lenovo Group's shares. I think our shares have a higher potential. "
After Feng Yu finished, Liu Chuanzhi was stunned for a while. That's right. Why must I acquire IBM's PC business? Was there a kind of dream that was haunting him? But IBM's PC business is not as good as Lenovo Group.
If Feng Yu wanted to buy some of IBM's advanced technologies, he could also take a step back and ask for licensing rights. This was much more cost-effective than buying the entire technology.
Liu Chuanzhi thought IBM still has a large market in the US. But if Lenovo acquires IBM, it might be like what Feng Yu said. The government and large corporations will lose their orders.
As for IBM's factories, Lenovo is not interested in them. The old factories have low production capacity, and the workers' wages are not low. Lenovo had already set up a factory in Brazil, and the Brazilian factory will be supplying the US factories.
That means IBM's valuable PC division is useless to Lenovo Group. If Lenovo acquires IBM, it will distract Lenovo Group. It is not worth it.
Liu Chuanzhi finally understood. IBM did not sell their PC business because they felt the profits were high. Now, they want to sell their PC business because the profits are not enough. They might even suffer losses.
IBM is not trying to help Lenovo. They are trying to give Lenovo a huge burden, and it's a heavy burden.
After thinking through all these, Liu Chuanzhi told Feng Yu that he knows how to reply to IBM.
The person-in-charge of IBM's PC business received Liu Chuanzhi's call with a smile on his face. After selling off their PC business, he will be in charge of the server business, and he might even get a raise.
But what he heard from the phone made his face change.
"Miller, Lenovo Group has decided to give up the idea of acquiring IBM's PC business."
Huh? Lenovo is giving up?!
… …
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