Feds OK IBM-Lenovo DealFeds OK IBM-Lenovo Deal

IBM said Wednesday that the proposed $1.25 billion sale of its PC business to China's Lenovo Group Ltd. has received clearance from a federal watchdog agency.

The Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, which is attached to the Treasury Department, gave the deal the green light after reviewing its national-security implications. Several members of Congress had voiced concerns that the deal would transfer sensitive technology to Lenovo, which is partly owned by the Communist Chinese government.

A source close to the deal said IBM and Lenovo had to make some "minor modifications" to the agreement to win federal approval. For instance, Lenovo employees working at IBM's manufacturing and design facility in Raleigh, N.C., must be housed in a separate building on the campus, the source said.

With the federal review completed, IBM officials say they expect the transaction to close in the second quarter.