Acer grabs Gateway

Deal worth $710m moves Acer to third position in PC market rankings, above arch-rival Lenovo

PC giant Acer has dealt rival Lenovo another blow by entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Gateway in a $710m deal.

The deal, which is expected to close in December, propels Acer to third position in the PC market rankings, below Dell and Hewlett Packard and above Lenovo.

Acer’s move closely follows Gateway’s decision to exercise its Right of First Refusal clause to snatch Packard Bell from the hands of Lenovo, a right it acquired following its acquisition of eMachines in 2004.

J.T Wang, chairman of Acer, said: “This strategic transaction is an important milestone in Acer’s long history. The acquisition of Gateway and its strong brand immediately completes Acer’s global footprint, by strengthening our US presence.
“This will be an excellent addition to Acer’s already strong positions in Europe and Asia. Upon acquiring Gateway, we will further solidify our position as number three PC vendor globally.”

Gianfranco Lanci, president of Acer, said: “Both Acer’s and Gateway’s geographical presences and product positioning are highly complementary. We believe that our combined scale will lead to significant efficiencies. Gateway has built one of the industry’s most powerful and unique brands and with this acquisition, we will have the opportunity to implement an effective multi-brand strategy and cover all the major market segments.

“In time, we intend to actively manage our brand portfolio and differentiate our brands to address different consumer segments. We are also acquiring a world-class team and Gateway’s employees will be critical to our combined success,” he said.