Lenovo Group today announced that it is acquiring the entire interest of Lenovo Mobile Communication Technology Ltd. from a group of investors led by Hony Capital, the private equity arm of Legend Holdings.

Consideration of the acquisition is approximately US$200 million in cash and Lenovo shares. Today's announcement signals that Lenovo is gearing up its efforts in the mobile Internet market in China. Lenovo Mobile now ranks No.3 in China?s mobile handset market and is the No.1 domestic brand. The transaction is conditional upon Lenovo independent shareholder approval.

China is entering a high growth phase. Driven by the government and telecom service carriers, the demand for mobile Internet devices has created a huge market. Industry analysts project the China mobile Internet market will grow to exceed US$16 billion by 2014, fueled by the rapid evolution of 3G mobile broadband and accompanying multimedia Internet services.

Yang Yuanqing, CEO of Lenovo Group, said: "As Lenovo?s global PC business continues to make steady progress, we view mobile Internet as a key growth opportunity moving forward globally. Lenovo has prepared itself in this area. We have developed first class products with excellent hardware and operating systems integration. We will launch these innovative new products in China soon. With enovo?s brand, strong channel and excellent operation platform, we?re confident in our ability to execute our mobile Internet strategy and make it our next growth engine after the China business."