Lenovo Lodges? Perhaps, Says Liu 联想进军酒店业？
I have to admit I was caught completely by surprise to read that Lenovo (HKEx: 992) parent Legend Holdings is considering a potential move into the hotel business. (Chinese article) The group’s founder and Chairman Liu Chuanzhi made the admission in an interview with China’s Sina, though he didn’t give much detail beyond to say any such move would be designed to maintain a high level of returns for the group before a planned IPO as soon as 2014. Regular readers of this blog will know I’m a relatively big fan of China’s hotel sector, especially the fast-growing budget hotel space that caters to the legions of newly mobile Chinese eager to see their country. But in this case, Legend should stick to what it knows best, which is technology, stemming from its success with companies like Lenovo, PC parts supplier Digital China (HKEx: 861) and Hony Capital, its investment arm which also specializes mostly in funding for high tech start-ups. Liu clearly likes the idea of growth by M&A, as evidenced by Lenovo’s 2005 purchase of IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) PC business, its unsuccessful bid for Packard Bell a few years later, and its latest announcement last week that it plans to buy Germany’s Medion. (previous post) But considering the difficulty it had with integrating IBM’s PC business, an area where it had lots of experience, a major M&A in the unfamiliar lodging sector could end up as a major distraction at the very least, and a potential time-bomb at the worst, which is something investors would hardly want to see as the parent company prepares to go public.
Bottom line: Lenovo parent Legend Holdings should forget about moves into unfamiliar sectors like hotels and focus on expanding its core technology businesses.
我不得不承认，当我得知联想<0992.HK>母公司联想控股正考虑进军酒店业时，我着实感到意外。联想控股创始人和主席柳传志在接受新浪采访时承认了这点，尽管他并未透露过多细节，只是表示类似举动旨在使公司的回报率维持在一个高水准。联想控股计划最快在2014年首次公开募股。经常阅读我博客的读者应该知道，相对而言，我是中国酒店业、尤其是快速发展的经济型酒店行业的拥趸。但就此案而言，联想应坚持其优势项目——科技。很明显，柳传志喜欢通过并购获得增长的想法，这从联想2005年收购IBM个人电脑部门一事中可见一斑，几年後联想还试图收购Packard Bell，但未能如愿。最新消息是，联想计划收购德国消费电子产品企业Medion。但有鉴於联想在整合IBM个人电脑业务时所遇到的困难，它若在相对不熟悉的酒店业进行大规模收购，往小了说会分散其注意力，往大了说会成为一颗潜在的定时炸弹。对於一家准备上市的公司而言，这可不是投资者愿意看到的事情。
一句话：联想控股应放弃进军酒店业等不熟悉行业的举措，集中精力拓展其核心的技术领域。
Related postings 相关文章:
◙ Lenovo Makes Strange Move Into Germany 联想进军德国令人摸不着头脑
◙ Lenovo’s Game Console — Yet Another Plan 联想：新推游戏机，这次能行吗？
◙ Lenovo’s LePad: Finally a Game Plan That Could Work 联想乐Pad：终於拿出了像样的东西
