5. Lenovo snaps up IBM's server business, Motorola

Lenovo Group Ltd, the Chinese personal-computer manufacturer, completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of International Business Machines Corp's low-end server business on Sept 29, making it the third-largest server vendor behind Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc. It already owns IBM's PC business, which it bought in 2005.

In October, Lenovo acquired Motorola Mobility for $2.91 billion from Google Inc, a deal which elevated Lenovo to the world's third-largest smartphone producer after Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, overtaking Xiaomi Corp. The acquisitions strengthened its position and presence in the United States and other developed markets.