International Business Machines Corp. is in talks to sell its low-end server business, with Lenovo Group Ltd. the most likely bidder, a person familiar with the matter said.

The business, which sells servers running x86 processors, may fetch $2.5 billion to $4.5 billion, depending on what assets and liabilities are included, said the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Lenovo, based in Beijing, acquired IBM’s personal-computer unit in 2005. A deal is still several weeks away, the person said.

The talks were previously reported in CRN. In response to the report, Lenovo said it was discussing a potential acquisition with a third party, which it didn’t identify. It said the negotiations are preliminary.