It could also pose a threat to the dominance of IBM. The purchase of ICL will immediately propel Fujitsu to second place in mainframe sales in Britain behind Big Blue. Fujitsu already produces mainframes and small business computers in Malaga, Spain and is investing more than $400 million in a computer-design center in England. “I think IBM would now have to be a little bit worried about its position in Europe,” said Mamoru Miki, a London-based industry analyst. Struggling hightech firms in Europe such as Dutch-owned Philips will also face powerful new competition. And a pair of multibillion-dollar consortia Eureka and Esprit, established to counter Japanese inroads in the European hightech market, face a dilemma: since ICL is a key member of both groups, they’ll have to decide whether to let its new owner Fujitsu into the club.
