HP sells 51% stake in China unit to Tsinghua University firm

A Chinese information technology and communications company under the Tsinghua University has purchased 51 per cent stake in Hewlett Packard's (HP) China-based joint venture for USD 2.5 billion.

Experts are upbeat that the move by Unisplendour Corp Ltd (UNIS), under Tsinghua University, will have a positive impact on the information technology market and will cultivate new localisation routes for foreign enterprises, state-run Xinhua quoted the experts as saying.

With an estimated valuation of USD 4.5 billion China-based H3C computing unit chalked up revenue of USD 3.1 billion and profits of USD 400 million in 2014.Formally, the deal is expected to be sealed by the end of 2015, the report said.

H3C, which sells networking equipment like servers and storage, was established in 2013 by telecommunication giant Huawei and 3Com, a digital electronics manufacturer.

HP purchased 3Com in 2010. Xu Jinghong, chief executive of Tsinghua University Science Park (TusPark), believes that H3C will develop into a market leader through the cooperation with Tsinghua.

HP will maintain ownership of its other businesses in China, including business services, software and HP Helion Cloud.