Lenovo is the largest personal computer maker in China and the fourth-largest maker of PCs after Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Acer. But Lenovo has just reported its third consecutive quarterly loss.
Now comes the news that Legend, which is 65% owned by the asset management arm of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is seeking to sell 29% of its shares for $404 million.
A spokeswoman for Legend, Gui Lin, confirmed the academy’s decision to sell the stake, and said the academy wanted to improve management of the company by bringing in another investor with better knowledge of corporate governance and more market expertise.
Gui Lin said, "It will be one of several Chinese companies, but we don’t know any names." But she added that the conditions for the sale would be that the buyer have at least RMB4 billion in registered assets and promise not to restructure the management of the company or resell its stake for at least five years.
She indicated that the academy wanted a deal to be struck by early September. The buyer or buyers would have to complete the transaction in one cash payment of RMB2.76 billion renminbi. Which puts a finite limit on the number of potential buyers.
The New York Times reports that besides Lenovo, Legend Holdings is involved in information technology, real estate and investment services. Its subsidiaries include the venture fund Legend Capital, the real estate firm Raycom and a private equity arm, Hony Capital.