Lenovo hires ex-CIA bod to push through Moto deal

Lenovo Group Ltd. (LNVGY) has turned to national security insiders to win U.S. approval to buy Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Motorola Mobility phone unit and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)’s low-end server business, people familiar with the two deals said.

The world’s largest personal-computer maker hired attorneys at Steptoe & Johnson LLP who held positions at the Central Intelligence Agency and the Homeland Security Department to guide its Motorola review through a key interagency panel, one of the people said. Covington & Burling LLP partners David Fagan and Mark Plotkin are representing Lenovo in the IBM server deal, according to another person familiar with the matter.

“It’s not uncommon for a company that is going to have more regulatory issues in Washington to beef up its lobby presence,” said Kenneth Gross, a lawyer at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. “It goes with the territory in terms of entering the Washington regulatory scene to beef up your presence here with lobbyists and others.”