Lenovo’s long expected deal to merge PC operations with Fujitsu in Japan is coming closer to reality.

“We are in the final stages of working out how best to create synergies for our two companies,” Tatsuya Tanaka, president of Fujitsu, said at a press conference on the company’s strategy on Tuesday in Tokyo. “We expect to wrap it up soon.”

A deal would help Lenovo in its attempt to remain the world’s top PC sales leader. In one survey, Lenovo lost its leadership to HP in the first quarter of this year. The battle remains very tight.

The New York Times quoted Fujitsu as pointing out the drawn-out process should not have been unexpected.

“It’s not like something unexpected happened, but we are trying to discuss everything thoroughly,” Tanaka said.

Reports about the possible merger surfaced last October, and in December Fujitsu indicated that a deal was expected in early 2017. That didn’t materialize.

Lenovo Chair and CEO Yang Yuanqing has said there was no rush to do a deal, and in March Lenovo said no timetable was in place for an agreement.

Lenovo struck a PC joint venture with Japan-based NEC in 2011. Its acquisition of IBM’s Raleigh-based PC division in 2005 made the company a global player.

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https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/06/06/technology/06reuters-fujitsu-strategy.html?_r=0