IBM Sells More of Its Stake in Lenovo HOT STOCKS

IBM shed more of its stake in Lenovo Group, the top Chinese PC maker, offloading up to $80 million worth of stock at a 3.9 percent to 7 percent discount to its closing price Monday, according to a document sent to investors.

International Business Machines is selling 116.19 million shares in Lenovo, or a roughly 1.3 percent stake, at 5.19 to 5.36 Hong Kong dollars, or 67 to 69 cents, per share, in a deal handled by Citigroup, the document said.

After the share sale, IBM’s holdings in Lenovo would drop to 4.7 percent, which falls below public-disclosure requirements, from 5.96 percent, the document said.

IBM acquired its stake in Lenovo at 2.675 Hong Kong dollars a share in 2005, when Lenovo bought IBM’s ailing PC arm for $1.25 billion, and has been selling it off in chunks as lockup periods have lapsed.

Originally published by Reuters.

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