TPG, General Atlantic, Newbridge sell $374m in Lenovo shares

TPG, General Atlantic and Newbridge Capital have partially exited their stake in Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo, shortly after the company’s stock reached a seven year high thanks to strong earnings growth and the launch of a new product line.

Lenovo Thinkpad: powering PE returns

In a private placement managed by Goldman Sachs today, the consortium sold a total of 350.5 million shares, earning HK$2.9 billion ($374 million, €255 million).

The firms have already returned more than their initial investment of $350 million, which the firms paid in 2005 to back Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s personal computer business. TPG invested $200 million, General Atlantic invested $100 million and Newbridge invested $50 million for a combined 10.1 percent stake in Lenovo.

The firms have sold a roughly 4 percent stake in the company at between HK$8.16 and HK$8.33 per share, a 4.6 percent to 6.5 percent discount to the stock’s closing price yesterday. At Lenovo’s current common share price of HK$8.11, the firms’ remaining stake is valued at about HK$4.5 billion ($580 million). The consortium has agreed not to sell any more shares for 60 days.