IBM gives US government concessions Lenovo will be affected after takeover

In an attempt to ease the security concerns of the US government over IBM's 1.25 billion-dollar deal to sell the PC sector to Lenovo, IBM made an unusual concession proposal to U.S. security management, February 25 news.

IBM's concession proposal, according to Bloomberg and the French International Herald Tribune, includes blocking the employees of Lenovo Group in the shared office from entering IBM's office building, relocating thousands of IBM employees elsewhere, and preventing Lenovo from knowing the names of IBM's U.S. government clients.

IBM was said to have made the proposal on February 23 to the CFIUS, which is responsible for approving the deal, aimed at preventing any possibility of espionage.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Homeland Security are said to be concerned that IBM's Research Triangle Park in North Carolina State could be used as a Chinese spy base. They worry that Chinese workers may get some information that interferes with U.S. government computers. As a result, U.S. security personnel have visited the area since it was announced that IBM was selling its PC business to Lenovo. This is understandable.

IBM and Lenovo have expressed confidence in the completion of the deal. But IBM's concession proposal would make the ongoing takeover negotiations tense. If this destructive condition is linked to an eventual takeover deal, Lenovo will be in a disadvantageous position in the fiercely competitive PC market.

Experts familiar with the deal scoff at the idea that IBM's PC could be used as a weapon against the United States. Experts point out that most of IBM's PC components are made in China. The only way IBM laptops have the dual use of technology and military is by dropping laptops from airplanes and smashing them down.