Japan's Fujitsu eyeing PC merger with China's Lenovo

Shares in Japanese IT giant Fujitsu soared Thursday on news it is considering merging its struggling personal computer division with China's Lenovo, the world's biggest PC maker.

A deal would mark the latest move by a Japanese firm to hive off struggling divisions to repair their finances, with Toshiba and Sony among a string of companies that have sold off assets in recent years. Japanese personal computer makers have been scaling back their businesses as consumers move to mobile devices to check e-mail or use the web.

The leading Nikkei business daily said the merger was among a number of options Fujitsu was considering for the money-losing unit. It did not give financial details.

In response, the conglomerate confirmed it is looking at "various possibilities including the reported move" but did not elaborate.

The firm's Tokyo-listed stock surged nearly six percent to close at 568.7 yen Thursday.

Fujitsu has been struggling to find a partner for its PC unit. It had been in talks with Toshiba and Vaio to merge their once high-flying personal computer businesses, but the talks have yet to result in a deal.

The reports on Thursday from the Nikkei and other Japanese media said Fujitsu and Lenovo were aiming to reach a deal by the end of this month as Fujitsu looks to focus more on its IT services business.

Possible options include transferring its PC design, development and manufacturing operations to a Lenovo-led joint venture, the Nikkei said.