Lenovo Group Limited (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) is targeting the third position in the global smartphone market after striking a deal with Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and International Business Machines Corp (NYSE:IBM) to acquire Motorola Mobility for $2.91 billion and low-end server business for $2.3 billion, respectively last month.
During a conference call with journalists, Yang Yuanqing, chairman of Lenovo Group Limited (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) said, “We will become the number three smartphone player in the world. With the combined business of Motorola smartphone and Lenovo smartphone, we will have much larger scale.”
Global smartphone Market share
Last year, Chinese company landed the fifth position with 4.5% share in the global smartphone market. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (KRX:005935) remained the largest smartphone manufacturer with 31.3% share, followed by Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) with 15.3% share, Huawei Technology Co. Ltd (SHE:002502) with 4.9% market share, and LG Electronics Inc (KRX:066575) with 4.8% market share, according to IDC.
Lenovo Group Limited (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) will likely achieve its objective to become the third largest smartphone manufacturer worldwide given its close market share gap with Huawei Technology Co. Ltd (SHE:002502), which currently holds the third position.
Lenovo to re-launch Motorola brand in China
According to Yang, Lenovo will re-launch the Motorola brand in China and in other emerging markets. The company is second leading smartphone player in the country with 12.5% market share as of September. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (KRX:005935) holds the leading position with 18.4% market share.
Several analysts are skeptical regarding the ability of Lenovo Group Limited (OTCMKTS:LNVGY) to make Motorola Mobility profitable given the fact that it recorded approximately $1 billion losses. Yang expressed confidence that the company will benefit from its latest acquisitions. He said, “We have made a lot of acquisitions before. We know how to manage the integration and products, how to manage the challenge and the risk.”
Motorola Mobility CEO joins Dropbox
Meanwhile, Dennis Woodside, CEO of Motorola Mobility is joining Dropbox, a private cloud storage company to serve as chief operating officer ahead of the closing of Lenovo deal.
Lenovo Group Limited (OTCMKTS:LVNGY) said it has knowledge about Woodside’s decision to leave Motorola Mobility. The company told Reuters, “We are aware of this change, but we are absolutely committed to this acquisition, and remain completely confident in the Google and Motorola leadership team.”
Jonathan Rosenberg, head of product management at Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) will be named chief operating officer of Motorola Mobility. He will be responsible in the daily operations of the smartphone manufacturer, according to sources familiar with the situation.
