The joint venture NEC and Lenovo announced back in January is now reality: the companies today said they have finally set up “NEC Lenovo Japan”, which Lenovo holds a 51% stake in (NEC holds the rest of the shares). The joint venture is limited to the Japanese PC market at this point, but NEC Lenovo instantly gained the bragging rights to call itself the country’s biggest PC maker (about 25% market share).
What’s interesting is that NEC and Lenovo hint at broadening the partnership at some point in the future, both with regard to products and target markets. NEC president Takasu says the two companies “will continue to discuss and assess new opportunities with this global partnership”, while Lenovo CEO Yuanqing is “determined to expand this strategic alliance beyond the PC business”.
Lenovo has reportedly paid NEC $175 million in company shares to get a foothold in Japan, the third biggest market for computer hardware in the world.