NEC has sold its Packard Bell unit to companies controlled by John Hui, the former owner of e-Machines, NEC said Monday.The value of the deal was not disclosed.Packard Bell markets and sells PCs and other consumer electronics products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America. The company that has been sold was created last year from what was left after the enterprise PC business was spun out of NEC Computers International to NEC Computers SAS, a French unit of NEC. NEC’s links with the Packard Bell brand name date back to July 1995, when it paid US$170 million for a 19.9 percent stake in U.S. PC maker Packard Bell Electronics.Its revenue in the year from April 2005 to March 2006 was 1.3 billion euros (about US$1.63 billion). “NEC’s focus has been going more towards the enterprise market, so we decided it’s in the best interests of Packard Bell and NEC to sell the company,” said Diane Foley, an NEC spokeswoman in Tokyo.-Martyn Williams, IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau) Related Links: NEC to Sell Water-Cooled PC With Blu-ray Drive NEC to Ship HD DVD, Blu-ray Dual Format Chip Gateway Mulls Offer for Retail BizCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe