联想剑指巴西

    通过收购巴西电子设备公司CCE，中国电脑制造商联想（Lenovo）以新兴市场为切入点，距离成为全球领先PC制造商的宏大愿景更近一步。

    目前，联想已经是中国和印度的市场领导者.周三，该公司宣布计划收购巴西第二大PC制造商CCE。据知情人士向《财富》杂志（Fortune）透露，这笔交易价值约1.5亿美元。

    交易消息传出时，联想在日本的合作伙伴NEC科技公司出售了其持有的所有联想股份，导致联想在亚洲市场的股价下跌了8%。

    其实，联想早已进入巴西市场。近期，联想便投资3,000万美元在当地建厂。但公司管理层认为，公司需要在当地寻找一位合作伙伴，加快在当地业务的开展。联想亚太及拉丁美洲地区总裁米尔科•范•杜伊吉对《财富》杂志称：“我们也可以自己来做。但我们已经错过了世界杯，也错过了奥运会。”巴西将主办2014年足球世界杯和2016年夏季奥运会。预计这两项体育盛会将刺激消费者对电子产品的需求，因为他们需要购买新设备来观看活动和赛事。

    范•杜伊吉表示，收购CCE对联想不仅具有战略意义，也与联想的企业文化相契合。“我第一次与CCE管理层见面时，就感觉到他们非常可靠，极其注重质量与品牌价值。”他表示，CCE高级管理层仍将继续留任，这也是交易的一部分。CCE创始人兼CEO罗伯托•斯沃尼尔在新闻发布会上表示：“联想将给CCE带来无与伦比的高品质产品。”收购预计将在2013年完成。

    联想一直保持着上升的势头，它在全球PC市场的份额已经从2009年的9%增加到了15%。联想的成功很大程度上源于它在中国和其他新兴市场的强大影响力。相比于发达国家市场，新兴市场的市场渗透率仍然较低。

    巴西与中国和印度一样，国内的中产阶层也在迅速崛起，而这种趋势则意味着对电脑、电视与手机需求的增加。

    当然，联想还不能放松。范•杜伊吉称：“我们认为，如果不能在全球前五大市场占据更为有利的地位，我们就不能算是首屈一指。”那么，哪个市场拖了联想的后腿？答案是美国。联想在美国市场位居第四，落后于惠普（HP）、戴尔（Dell）和苹果（Apple）。

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    With its planned acquisition of Brazilian electronics company CCE, Chinese computer maker Lenovo moves one step closer to its bold vision of becoming the world's leading PC maker by attacking emerging markets.

    Lenovo, already the market leader in China and India, on Wednesday said it plans to acquire CCE, the No. 2 PC maker in Brazil. A person close to the transaction tells Fortune the deal is valued at about $150 million.

    News of the deal comes as Lenovo's partner in Japan, NEC Corp., sold its entire stake in Lenovo, a move that sent the PC maker's shares down 8% in Asian markets.

    Lenovo already has a presence in Brazil. It recently invested $30 million in a factory there. But executives felt the company needed a local partner to jump-start its operations in the area. "We could do it ourselves," Milko van Duijl, president of Asia Pacific and Latin America for Lenovo, tells Fortune, "but we'd miss the World Cup. We'd miss the Olympics." Brazil will host soccer's World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016. Both events are expected to spur demand for electronics as consumers seek new devices to watch events and games.

    Van Duijl says the CCE deal was a strategic fit for Lenovo, but also a cultural one. "The first time I met the family I sensed that they were solid, focused on quality and brand value." He says senior management will stay on as part of the transaction. "Lenovo brings CCE an unmatched legacy of quality," Roberto Sverner, founder and CEO of CCE, said in a news release. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.

    Lenovo has been on an upswing, boosting its share of the global PC market to 15%, up from 9% in 2009. Much of its success can be attributed to its strong position in China and other emerging markets, where market penetration is not as high as it is in the developed world.

    Brazil, like China and India, is seeing an expansion of its middle class -- a trend that translates into increased demand for computers, televisions, and cell phones.

    Of course, Lenovo still has work to do. "We don't feel we get to No. 1 if we don't take a more prominent position in the top five markets worldwide," Van Duijl says. Where does Lenovo lag? The U.S., where the company is the No. 4 player, behind HP (HPQ), Dell (DELL), and Apple (AAPL).