Chinese PC giant Lenovo has announced that it is in talks to buy European PC company, Packard Bell in a deal estimated by analysts to be worth around $800m (£300m).

Lenovo, which took over IBM’s global PC business in December 2004, is in talks with Packard Bell’s owner, John Hui, who bought the company from NEC less than a year ago. In a statement, Lenovo said:

"Lenovo today announced that the Company is in discussion with an independent third party in relation to a proposed acquisition of Packard Bell, a computer company in Europe and has entered into a memorandum of understanding with such party to explore the possibilities of the proposed acquisition."

There is speculation that Acer also its eye on Packard Bell to boost its European presence but the company has yet to confirm or deny its interest. Packard Bell representatives have, however, claimed the Lenovo talks are ‘exclusive’.

The acquisition will give Lenovo an instant presence in the European consumer PC market where it is weak, at the moment. The company announced in June that it has been making headway in the UK market, thanks to the introduction of a new transactional model. According to Gartner’s latest rankings, Lenovo is placed fifth in the UK PC market, behind the likes of Dell, HP, Acer and Toshiba.