TOKYO (Reuters) – NEC Corp. said on Monday it has sold its European personal computer operations, pulling out of the consumer PC market there.
NEC, Japan’s third-largest electronics conglomerate, said it sold its holdings in Packard Bell BV to Lap Shun Hui, former co-founder of eMachines, a maker of low-cost PCs that has since been bought by Gateway Inc.
NEC declined to comment on the price. Packard Bell BV has annual sales of around 130 billion yen ($1.09 billion), but has been in the red for several years.
NEC is the top seller of home-use PCs in Japan but its computer sales have been unable to gain momentum overseas. It was the world’s seventh-largest PC maker in 2005 with a market share of 2.8 percent, according to research firm Gartner.
NEC runs European PC and server operations for corporate clients through another local unit, which will continue. Prior to the announcement, shares of NEC closed up 4 percent at 684 yen, outperforming the broader Nikkei average, which rose 0.94 percent.
Fuente: Reuters
