Covington Secures CFIUS Approval for Lenovo Acquisition

Covington Secures CFIUS Approval for Lenovo Acquisition

August 22, 2014

WASHINGTON, DC, August 22, 2014 — The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has cleared Lenovo Group’s bid to acquire International Business Machines’ x86-based server business in a $2.3 billion acquisition. Covington & Burling represented Lenovo in securing CFIUS approval.

David Fagan, Mark Plotkin, Stuart Eizenstat and Jonathan Wakely led the Covington team in connection with the approval process.

Covington has played a leading role in a number of CFIUS approvals for global companies. Last year, the firm advised Canadian energy company Nexen Inc. in its $15.1 billion sale to CNOOC Ltd., and advised Wanxiang America in its $256.6 million purchase of substantially all of the non-government business assets of U.S. battery maker A123 Systems, Inc.

Covington has a preeminent practice on cross-border investments, including those requiring CFIUS approval. The firm often is called upon for complex CFIUS reviews, including those involving high-stakes commercial investments and those that present myriad other issues ranging from cutting-edge technology transfers to defense and homeland security contracting and novel compliance matters.