Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Allen & Overy have the lead roles on a $2.3 billion deal that will see Chinese state-owned Tsinghua University take a controlling stake in Hewlett-Packard's server, storage and technology support services business in China.

Unisplendour Corp., a Shenzhen-listed subsidiary of Tsinghua's holding company, will buy a 51 percent stake in a newly created joint venture known as the New H3C. The JV will comprise Hangzhou-based H3C Technologies Co. Ltd., a router manufacturer wholly owned by HP, and HP's China-based server, storage and technology services businesses.

H3C Technologies, a leading wireless local area network devices supplier in China, was initially formed in 2003 as a joint venture between China's Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and U.S. electronics manufacturer 3Com Corp. Huawei subsequently sold its shares to 3Com and, following HP's acquisition of 3Com in 2009, H3C Technologies became a wholly unit of HP.