Acer acquires Gateway, Gateway acquires Packard Bell
updated 08:55 am EDT, Mon August 27, 2007
Acer Acquires Gateway
Taiwan computer giant Acer today announced that it would acquire Gateway through a share buyout valued at $710 million. The move is meant to give Acer an edge in the US market and will create the third-largest PC maker in the country with 10.8 percent of the market -- nearly doubling the marketshare of next-best competitor Apple's 5.6 percent, according to data from research group IDC. It should also create the third-largest computer company in the world, Acer claims. Both Acer and Gateway believe the merger will complement their own strategies, with the Taiwan firm receiving a boost in recognition and Gateway receiving better presence for itself and its eMachines budget label.
The companies have not yet decided on the extent to which their computer lines will overlap, but the combined operations are expected to already save $150 million in the coming year. The deal should be completed by this December following government approval.
As part of the announcement, Gateway also revealed that it has bought out all controlling shares in PB Holding Company, effectively giving the American system builder control of Packard Bell. The latter exited the US market after poor results but has seen success in Europe in recent years, producing computers as well as media players and other portable electronics. Gateway also revealed that it hopes to shed its Professional business through a sale to an outside company, shifting its focus to the home user market.
Irrelevant
08/27, 09:44am reply
Yet another news story that has almost nothing to do with Apple products.
bryanjbusch
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which
08/27, 10:07am reply
which is why it's posted on Electronista and only linked via MacNN... They have to boost page views somehow :P
eldarkus
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In other news...
08/27, 10:44am reply
Crappy PC maker buys other crappy PC maker, which has in turn just bought another crappy PC maker.
Not news: All are still Microsoft's b******.
mjgardner
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Re: in other news
08/27, 11:43am reply
There you all go again, just misreporting details with your own anti-PC garbage.
Gateway is in no way a 'crappy PC maker'. They are a 'S***** PC maker'. There's a complete and utter difference between the two. And to call Packard Bell the same thing slanders (or is it libels?) all different types of c*** everywhere. h***, the mice in my house c*** stuff better then PB!
Be prepared to be sued!
testudo
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re: testudo
08/27, 11:45am reply
LOL
Nice.
gambit23
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You all amaze me
08/27, 11:51am reply
I saw that there were 3 comments, but I could not fathom the idea of what a Mac lover could possibly b**** about regarding a MERGER. And for the last time (thank you eldarkus) why go through the hassle of setting up a separate server when you can have two domain names access the same information on one? Sound familiar? It's called Electronista.com and MacNN.com.
As for the article, I wonder how this will affect enterprise contracts with Gateway, and in specific, with the university I'm attending. I'll hope that the sale of their professional division will be as fluid a transaction to that of IBM -> Lenovo, where the end user was barely affected. As far as price range, these two companies have been in the the same boat. It's interesting to see if one will drop to become more competitive with Dell or the other rise to the 'prestige' of sony.
gitcypher
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Those who don't learn...
08/27, 01:40pm reply
Acer was already in the US market, back in the 90s. They made horrible machines and destroyed their own market. I bought three in one weekend, and two were defective. One of the replacements was also defective. These were the famous "swiss cheese" models. They looked great as cheap art, but they sucked as computers. I suspect what Acer is trying to do is buy their way back into the US market the way that ValuJet bought their way back into the the airline market after plowing Flight 592 into the Everglades, by changing their name to the recently acquired AirTran Airways.
TheSnarkmeister
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Re: those who...
08/27, 04:43pm reply
Um, Acer's in the US market now (at least my boss recently purchased an Acer notebook).
testudo
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re Those who don't learn.
08/27, 11:26pm reply
I don't think Acer ever left the market. Their notebooks aren't bad, maybe excepting the cheaper Aspire line.
thesearcher
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