If the recent deals both come through, Lenovo will have to integrate two big businesses in very different areas simultaneously. "This time, Lenovo is going one step too far," said Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Alberto Moel.

Sun Yongjie, an IT commentator in China, doubted the wisdom of Lenovo's decision to buy Motorola, which was purchased by Google roughly two years ago and was unloaded to Lenovo following Google's failed experiment to turn Motorola around.

"The value of the Motorola brand has greatly shrunk in past years. It's losing ground quickly, even in the U.S. market. The less than 1-percent global market share has shown that its cooperation with telecom operators is useless."

"It's hard to tell how much help the flagging Motorola brand can provide to Lenovo's overseas expansion. How to integrate two vastly different product lines and how to avoid the loss-making Motorola from dragging down Lenovo's already low-profit smartphone business will be challenges that Lenovo will encounter."

Taking on the challenge

On February 13, Lenovo reported upbeat quarterly profits, which rose 30 percent to a record high on strong smartphone sales.

Profit for the three months ended December 31 was $265 million, the company said. Quarterly revenue topped $10 billion for the first time, rising 15 percent to $10.8 billion.

Sales of laptop computers that supply half the company's revenue rose 11 percent to $5.4 billion while sales of desktop PCs rose 12 percent to $3.2 billion.

In sharp contrast, sales of smartphones and other mobile devices rose as fast as 73 percent to $1.7 billion. The company has said it expects mobile technology to supply the bulk of its revenue in coming years.

Lenovo CEO Yang acknowledged that the Motorola deal could have a negative impact on Lenovo's earnings in the short term, but he argued the acquisition is good for their shareholders for the long term.

Yang claimed the Motorola deal will give Lenovo five assets—the brand, over 2,000 patents, technology, a product line and better access to key markets such as the United States.

For the past few years, Lenovo has demonstrated an ability to increase revenue and squeeze out profits even when most traditional PC makers saw their sales decline. Lenovo bought IBM's loss-making PC unit in 2005 and turned it into a bigger, more profitable business. The company so far has built its success largely on a ruthless ability to cut costs.

"We have already identified areas where we can cut expenses. With the combined scale of Lenovo and Motorola after the acquisition, we can significantly reduce costs in terms of material procurement and the supply chain. When we complete the acquisition, from day one, we can start working on those cost synergies. Most likely it will take a couple of quarters to turn around the Motorola business. But I definitely believe we can have a profitable business over time," Yang said during an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Li, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Overseas Investment under the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said Lenovo's two purchases within one week can hardly be called abrupt, especially against the larger backdrop of faster-than-ever overseas investment by Chinese companies.

In 2013, China's overseas investment in non-financial sectors totaled $90.2 billion, surging 16.8 percent from 2012.

Manufacturing companies accounted for the bulk of the overseas investment. It's a very good way for domestic manufacturers to buy valuable assets from developed countries in order to upgrade and achieve business transformation, Li said.

"The IBM purchase and successful integration after the purchase has offered great experience that Lenovo can refer to in the Motorola deal. Besides, Lenovo has become a very mature multinational instead of merely a Chinese company. Traditionally, Chinese companies have international business departments to deal with overseas businesses. Lenovo, however, has set up operation centers based on business types."

Lenovo CEO Yang said Lenovo has the required knowledge and experience in business integration after large-scale acquisitions.

"Thanks to business integrations following previous mergers and acquisitions, Lenovo has made impressive progress in the PC unit in a lackluster global PC market. The total profit margin hasn't been compromised," Yang said.

By using Motorola as a springboard to North American and Latin American markets, Lenovo will sell more than 100 million smartphones in 2015, he said.

After the Motorola acquisition, Lenovo ranks No.3 in smartphone shipment volume, he said.

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