In a replay of a story that first broke in 2008, Lenovo reportedly is on the prowl for more business in Brazil.
Rumors are flowing that Lenovo might buy Positivo, the company that it reportedly bid as $800 million to acquire four years ago.
Now, however, there also is talk that Lenovo might build a factory in Brazil.
Shares in Positivo Informatica SA, Brazil’s biggest computer maker, rose the most in a month after reports about Lenovo’s possible moves.
Positivo’s shares gained 4.5 percent to, the most since April 18, while the benchmark Bovespa index climbed 1.4 percent.
Lenovo, which operates its executive headquarters in Morrisville, may set up a production facility in Brazil to avoid import tariffs, Milko Van Duijl, the company’s president of Asia and Latin America, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal today.
“When a computer maker mentions intentions of coming to Brazil, Positivo’s shares rise, because it is the only relevant player in this market,” Marcelo Varejao, an analyst at Socopa Corretora, said by the phone from Sao Paulo.
Lenovo’s press office in Brazil didn’t respond to an interview request. The company is the world’s second-biggest maker of personal computers.
“We are interested in buying or working with all the players [in Brazil], though we are not singling out any one of them,” when it comes to acquisitions, Van Duijl said.
Aggressive moves in Brazil would be just the latest in moves around the world, such as an acquisition in Germany and a joint operating agreement in Japan, that has expanded Lenovo’s global market share and could soon make it the top PC seller.
Positivo has gained 0.5 percent this year, while the Bovespa fell 2.7 percent.
(Bloomberg news contributed to this report.)
