IBM Considers Sale of Low-Tech Businesses : Technology: The electric typewriter operation, among others, may be sold to focus on more profitable fields.

International Business Machines Corp. is considering selling its low-technology businesses, including operations that make such former flagship products as its electric typewriters and keyboards, sources said Wednesday.

Although the Armonk, N.Y., firm declined to discuss its intentions, sources familiar with IBM’s operations said it is continuing its 3-year-old policy of trimming nonstrategic and marginally profitable operations to concentrate on its core technology operations.

The deal currently under discussion calls for IBM to sell the Lexington, Ky., manufacturing plant that makes its personal computer keyboards, typewriters and low-cost mechanical printers to a group including the plant’s managers. The deal would likely be structured as a leveraged buyout worth about $3 billion, a price sources said was close to the operation’s annual revenue.

Sources said IBM would probably commit to buy goods from the plant in exchange for the buyer’s agreeing to honor IBM’s long-standing “no layoff” policy for at least a year or two. The plant, modernized several years ago at a reported cost of $300 million, employs about 5,000 workers.

The company declined to confirm these reports, saying only that it “is in the process of considering many options as it moves to sharpen its strategic focus and remain on the leading edge of the information processing business.” The computer giant added that any future action would not disrupt its “full-employment policy.”

The principal buyer could not be confirmed, but firms said to be interested in the IBM products include Olivetti, the Italian computer and typewriter maker; Siemens A.G., the German high-tech manufacturer that purchased the Rolm telephone unit from IBM last year, or a U.S. regional telephone company, sources said.

Analysts said IBM has been looking to shed units that face continuing price competition from foreign firms and no longer have the potential to generate the level of profits the company wants.

Sources said that although IBM has considered selling the Lexington plant previously, the current deal appears to be the closest it has come to actually completing a sale.