A spin-off is more likely, but Daoud speculated it was remotely possible that Lenovo would consider the purchase of HP's PC unit. A move by Lenovo may hinge on whether it judges its purchase of IBM's PC division as a success.

Much of Lenovo's PC market position comes from domination in the fast-growing China market, and it is looking to establish a big presence in the U.S., which HP's PSG could provide, Daoud said. Chinese investors may also shell out cash to make the acquisition possible. Lenovo was the world's third-largest PC maker with 12.2 percent of the market in the second quarter. Its shipments grew by 22.9 percent in that time, bucking the 2.6 percent worldwide PC shipment growth rate.

Billions in revenue and low operating profits make it difficult to project the market value of PSG, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. If HP truly wants to fully divest itself from PSG, discounting the price would be an option, but shareholders could push back on that.

"Right now, a spin-off seems simpler, more likely to me. But funds from a deal would give Apotheker and company more cash for acquisitions and product development so it's likely they'll explore numerous options," King said.

There are questions about what HP may include to sweeten a deal, King said. HP offers printers and PC-related business services like system deployment, management and maintenance.