IBM Sells $83.6 mln Stake in China`s Lenovo

HONG KONG, April 21 (Reuters) – U.S. computer giant IBM(IBM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shed more of its stake in top Chinese PC maker LenovoGroup Ltd (0992.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday, offloading $83.6 million worth ofstock at a 6 percent discount to its last trading price, asource familiar with the deal said.

International Business Machines Corp (IBM) acquired itsstake in Lenovo at HK$2.675 a share in 2005, when the Chinesefirm bought IBM’s ailing PC arm for $1.25 billion, and has beenselling it off in chunks as lockup periods have lapsed.

On Monday, IBM sold 116.19 million Lenovo shares at HK$5.61each, the bottom of their indicated range, in a deal handled byCitigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

The stake represents 1.3 percent of Lenovo, the world’s No.4 personal computer maker, leaving IBM with 6.5 percent of thecompany, according to a document sent to investors.

Lenovo shares closed at HK$5.97 on Monday, down 0.5 percent,lagging a 2.17 percent gain in Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang SengIndex .HSI.

In February, IBM sold $80 million worth of Lenovo shares atHK$5.41 each.(US$1=HK$7.8)(Reporting by Kennix Chim and Tony Munroe; Editing by JosephChaney/Elizabeth Fullerton)