Lenovo Makes Bid for German PC Maker Medion

Lenovo is hoping to acquire a majority stake in German PC maker Medion Electronics, in an effort to grow its consumer market share in Western Europe, the Chinese company said on Wednesday.

The acquisition would help Lenovo grow its consumer PC market share in Western Europe, and the German market specifically, the company said in a statement.

Lenovo has been trying to break into the consumer space in Europe, but has had little success, according to Eszter Morvay, research manager for IDC’s European Personal Computing group.

Medion, the last pan-European PC maker, sells over 60 percent of its PCs in Germany, but has also made a mark in countries such as Austria and Belgium, according to Morvay.

During the first three months of 2011, Medion had a 4 percent share of the consumer market in Western Europe, compared to only 0.5 percent for Lenovo, Morvay said.

Lenovo is offering €13 (US$18.70) in cash per Medion share, a 29 percent premium over the average closing price for the previous 30 days.

The offer values Medion at €629.4 million. The deal will only go ahead if the holders of at least 15 percent of publicly traded Medion shares accept. That would be sufficient to give Lenovo a majority stake in the company, as Medion founder and CEO Gerd Brachmann has already agreed to sell two-thirds of his 60 percent stake in the company to Lenovo for €13 per share, 80 percent of it in cash and 20 percent in Lenovo shares.

This isn’t the first time Lenovo has tried to buy a European PC maker: A few years ago, it also made a play for Packard-Bell, but lost out to Acer.