Acer to Buy Gateway (UPDATED)

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Acer has announced a tender offer to purchase Gateway's shares for $710 million, a hefty premium over the closing price of Gateway's shares on Friday. Gateway is also exercising its first right of refusal to purchase the rest of Packard Bell.

Acer will pay $1.90 per share for Gateway's common stock, a whopping 58% premium over the closing price Friday of $1.21.

Lenovo had been rumored in recent weeks to be interested in Packard Bell. That was likely the driving force behind Gateway exercising their first right of refusal. Lenovo likely made an offer, requiring Gateway to execute the option or risk losing control of the company.

Acer ends up adding a floundering Gateway and Packard Bell, with limited market penetration, mostly in Europe. The acquisition seems strange from Acer's perspective, but is great for Gateway shareholders. They'll surely tender their shares, which beyond regulatory approval, is about all that needs to happen for this deal to close. It remains to be seen if Acer can breathe life into a Gateway brand that has struggled in relative obscurity for the last few years.

UPDATE: Acer's tender offer to purchase Gateway would immediately double Acer's market share worldwide, creating the third largest PC manufacturer with 10.8 percent of the market behind HP (23.6 percent) and Dell (28.4 percent). Lenovo, which currently holds the No. 3 spot in the marketplace, will slip to the No. 4 spot.

On a worldwide basis, the Acer-Gateway-Packard Bell merger would push Taiwan's Acer ahead of Chinese rival Lenovo in terms of market share and global unit sales. When you put it that way, Acer's purchase of the less-than-successful Gateway and Packard Bell brands makes much more sense.

Looks as though Acer and Gateway have been mapping out their investment in each other. There is more information on the deal and specifics for the future in a PDF file they have posted, check it out here. This merger could bring about some new tablets or even UMPCs.

 

Wow that is amazing! I'm no Acer or Gateway fan, but I'm kind of surprised that Acer is buying Gateway. I mean Gateway, along with Avertech and emachines have like the worst reputation as far as notebook makers go. A while back Compaq didn't have the best name either, but hp has done well with them.

 

Was just going to post it myself .

Lately I noted Gateway didn't renew many of its napa models , could that have been the reason ?

It would be interesting to see what happens now ( merging models , pricing , etc. ) .

 

I don't see much value in buying Gateway. Yes, it moves them up the list over Lenovo and gives them more sales in America but what else does it really offer. I think a company like Asus is a better choice for a takeover since they make and assemble products.

 

Actually, Gateway's quality has been getting better according to recent reports.

My Gateway desktop has worked great for the past two years, their customer support has been terrific, and they've been a good company historically.

Sounds like Acer might have found a bargain, due to Gateway's recent problems, to get a physical presence in the U.S.

It will be interesting to see what this will mean for consumers.

 

So... What does this actually mean? Will Gateway no longer offer Quanta notebooks? And will PB no longer offer... uh, whatever ODM makes their stuff?

/*is confused*/

 

Little early to tell. Most likely they'll keep doing what they're doing now. That's been the MO in similar deals recently.

 

"Recent Deals"

Heheh... You mean Dell-Alienware ?

 

Finally...Gateway falls!

 

So will it be called Acerway or Gatcer? Hopefully Gateway will go away altogether....it is a 90s relic that should have never left the 90s.

Acer is well respected in Asia, however I never remember good things about Acer in the States.

 

Actually Gateway budget notebook models have been breaking into the public consciousness recently, after being sold in Tescos. They are pretty popular with models selling out quickly, as they are priced around the £300-400 mark.

 

Ice -

Dell - Alienware
HP - Voodoo
HP - Compaq
Lenovo - ThinkPad

Pretty much all of them in recent memory.

 

Poor Acer! I feel badly and sorry for them already! Oh, how once mighty gateway has fallen from it's heady days of arrogance and non-service oriented attitudes. Lucky gateway, unlucky Acer!

The one good thing about gateway is making $$ by shorting the stock!

 

Good wrap up on recent tie ups

 

Being a little nitpicky here but in your update I think you have HP and Dell's market share percentage backwards. Hopefully Acer can breathe some life into Gateway. I think this will be big for Acer but I think they really need to focus on improving quality all around as both Gateway and Acer have tended to have subpar quality products for the last few years.

 

Actually, if I'm not mistaken, HP only recently surpassed Dell's numbers in the notebook world. In desktops, I would venture to guess Dell still holds number 1, if for no other reason than businesses alone. Every where I go and look (including my own office building) I see Dell Optiplex and Precisions everywhere.

 

You are correct. Although HP is now No. 1 in terms of notebooks, Dell still holds the top spot in overall market share and unit sales for all computers (desktops and notebooks/tablets).

 

If Gateway and Acer have below average quality - then who has the above average quality to balance it out? Certainly NOT Dell or HP/Compaq!

 

HP bought Voodoo?

Heh.. Must spend less time on Mars. I'm missing stuff

 

Where do you think the HDX came from?

 

poor Gateway. and acer I guess, I consider getting a gateway desktop a week ago, and then decided to go with an HP. Now I am SOOOOOOOOO glad I went with HP. I am sick of acer... there quality... there support... Fat32... everything!!!

 

I have a 6 year old gateway that still performs perfectly. I bought 2 desktops from them in the last 9 years or so, because they last forever. The 9 year old one STILL works, so I just loaded Ubuntu on it and use it as a server.

I don't get where the service/quality control issues are coming from...my experiences with Gateway were better than ideal compared to my experiences with Dell, Alienware, and Apple. Not that I don't enjoy my computers from those manufacturers as well.

I think this Acer + Gateway development will bring exciting new developments to both companies.

 

I'd rather Lenovo buy Gateway and Acer buy Packard Bell
(not as much of a shake up)

 

More info on this from Engadget

 

It doesn't make as much sense as Lenovo buying IBM PC. See what thinkpad brought to Lenovo what ever on market share or the reputation especially on notebook worldwide, but Gateway...really?

 

acer is only buying gateway for the brand... acer exited the us market with crappy products and a tarnished image... it's trying to regain the us market with the momentum it acquired in asia and europe... let's see if it will work out with using the gateway name since gateway has been tanking as of late... but acer can certainly make laptops and desktops cheaper than gateway...

 

It's all about who you talk to. Me, well, I've had bad, bad, BAD experience with them. Oh look, brand new laptop has a line of dead pixels right on startup. We'll just send it back and they'll fix it in... 2 1/2 months! Oh, and by "fix" I mean that after drafting a up a consumer complaint due to the utter lack of communication, they didn't even fix it, but send us a new unit instead.

 

The silly ShopNBC sales man today was talking about this while trying to sell and acer notebook (And a seriously low specced, over priced, bloatware infested notebook after all).

^Is what he said. Words escape me there. He didn't even name the company. xD

"Acer

 

Just a thought: Acer's history of turning a solid acquisition of TI's line of notebooks maybe indicative of things to come for gateway.

 

wow, all of the crappy companies are coming together to form AceredBellWay. I think while they are at it they should buy Clevo so all the Sagers, Tiger Directs, etc can all share the same poop.

 

I hardly think this is fair, since many Clevos/Sagers are considered quite good machines, especially in the gaming world.

 

Isn't that amazing that a company like Dell that manufactures poor quality products is still number 1??

 

Dell isn't #1, HP is. I don't think dell will stay #2 for much longer, they have really let the Inspiron (and now Vostro) line go downhill.

 

HP is number 1 in the notebook space. When you take into account desktops and notebooks Dell is still the market leader ... for now.

 

Whats all the hate with Gateway?

My laptop is awesome and the BEST deal on the market that I could find. Great quality imo too.

The only thing I can guess is maybe their "new" notebooks suck and their "refurbs" are awesome because they fix all the issues the second time around and give you at least 1/3 the price off...lol? Plus they must have given all the good customer service to their refurb department? Or whats up?

 

Hmm, I like Gateway, but all of my Gateway desktops are from before 2002. I have a soft spot for Gateway, since my first computer was a Gateway 2000 with the Pentium MMX, way back in 1996. Never had a Gateway laptop.

I don't like Acer much, but I guess its mutually beneficial for all three companies.

 

i have an acer 14 inch tablet and was looking at the gateway 14 tablet as a replacement but now i think i'm going to wait a little while longer and see what happens between them. i know that no matter what my next tablet will be 14inches and from either company. (i've never had a problem with my acer that wasn't completly my own fault, by which i mean my manhandling of it broke the hinge but the replacement part was inexpensive with next day shipping and i was all set)

 

Dell has a looooong way to fall in market share before they are #3 or lower.

 

EEKS! i JUST BOUGHT hsn'S tODAYS sPECIAL FOR 849.

Gateway M-6316 Laptop Computer with Webcam Features:

Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core Mobile Technology, Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2330 (1.6 GHz)

Memory: 2048MB DDR2 Dual-Channel

Hard Drive: 250GB HD (GATEWAY SAID IT IS 7200RPM WHEN CS CALLED THEM)

Optical Drive: 8x Multi-Format Dual Layer DVD+/-RW with DVD-RAM. Write max: 8x DVD+/-R, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+RW, 2x DVD-R DL, 2.4x DVD+R DL, 5x DVD-RAM, 24x CD-R and 16x CD-RW disks. Read max: 8x DVD-R/RW/ROM, 4x DVD+/-R DL, 5x DVD-RAM, 24x CD-R/RW/ROM disks.

Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

LCD Monitor: 15.4" Widescreen Ultrabright WXGA (1280x800) featuring 300cd/m2 brightness

Media Card Reader: 5-in-1 digital media manager - secure digital (SD), memory stick (MS), memory stick pro, multimedia card (MMC) and xD-picture card

Other Differentiator: 1.3 megapixels webcam with integrated microphone, Synaptics touchpad with vertical scroll and metal Razr-style multimedia buttons

Additional Features and Specifications:

System Bus: 533MHz
Cache Memory: 1MB L2 cache
Graphics: Intel graphics media accelerator X3100
Video Memory: Up to 384MB of dynamic
Pointing device: Synaptics touchpad with vertical scroll
Speakers: Stereo speakers, Microphone In, Headphone/Audio Out
Modem: 56K ITU V.92 fax/modem
Network Interface: 10/100 Mbps built-in Ethernet
Ports: (1) Expresscard Type 54 Expansion Slot, (3) USB 2.0, (1) VGA connector, (1) RJ11-modem, (1) RJ45-Ethernet, (1) AC adapter connector, (1) Kensington Lock Slot, (1) Microphone, (1) Headphone/SPDIF Audio Out
Wireless Network Adapter: 802.11g
PLUS, I CAN BUY 2YRS ADDITIONAL WARRANTY FOR $199
=================================================================================

HERES THE OTHER LAPTOP i HAVE ON ORDER

I NEED TO DECIDE WHICH IS BETTER OR JUST GET SOMETHING ELSE???

OR..................................

FROM QVC

Dark Gray/Light Gray.

Includes Acer AS5520 notebook

, AC adapter, and software package (software ships separately)
15.4" diagonal WXGA+ CrystalBrite TFT LCD
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-core TK-55 processor
3GB shared DDR2 SDRAM
160GB SATA hard drive
8X DVD+/-RW super multi dual-layer drive
NVIDIA GeForce 7000M graphics with TurboCache technology
802.11bg wireless technology with signal-up internal antenna
Integrated webcam
Integrated gigabit 10/100 Ethernet
5-in-1 memory card reader (card not included)
Two built-in stereo speakers
6-cell lithium-ion battery
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Approximate measurements: Closed 14-1/2"L x 11"W x 1-1/2"H; Open 11-1/4"H
UL listed AC adapter, ETL listed notebook; 3-year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty
Made in China
Manufacturer's specifications subject to change without notice.

AMD Athlon 64 enables 32- and 64-bit computing and maximizes performance for both current and future applications, resulting in quicker application loading and an excellent multimedia experience. AMD Athlon 64 performance delivers exceptional multitasking and multithreaded performance for both 32- and 64-bit environments. HyperTransport technology boosts overall system agility so your applications are responsive and you get incredible performance. AMD Athlon 64 technology featuring AMD Digital Media XPress delivers a rich experience on today's multimedia-enhanced software, enabling stellar performance and playback quality on digital entertainment such as games, streaming video and audio, DVDs, and music.

Windows Vista Home Premium is the operating system for homes with advanced computer needs. It will help you use your laptop or desktop PC more effectively as well as enable you to enjoy new, exciting digital entertainment experiences – all with the benefit of added security and reliability.

Between 32 and 64MB of shared system memory may be allocated to support graphics, depending on system memory size and other factors. Dual-channel memory requires two each of the same capacity memory DIMMs.

1280x800 pixel resolution, supporting simultaneous multi-window viewing via Acer GridVista.

NVIDIA GeForce 7000M with up to 896MB of TurboCache technology (256MB of dedicated system memory, up to 640MB of shared system memory).

5-in-1 Media Card Connector accepts Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO (MS Pro), Secure Digital (SD)/SDIO, Multi Media card (MMC), and xD-Picture Card (xD).

Total storage capacity is 160 billion bytes (for hard drives, 1GB=1 billion bytes); actual accessible capacity is less. Your accessible capacity may vary depending on your operating environment and formatting, and various factors including your file size, file format, features and application software. Examples shown are for illustrative purposes only and are mutually exclusive.

QVC neither condones nor encourages the use of this, or any other similar technology to acquire unauthorized copies of copyrighted works, inclusive of, but not limited to, the download of pre-recorded music via the Internet. Not all DVD-R/-RW and DVD+R/+RW discs are compatible with all DVD-R/-RW and DVD+R/+RW players. Contact the manufacturer for further information.

Integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam, supporting enhanced Acer PrimaLite technology.

Wireless capability and use of public wireless locations, or hot spots, may require a network connection, additional accessories, and a service connection fee, as well as a DSL or cable modem Internet connection. Access to, and use of, the Internet may require payment of a separate fee to an Internet Service Provider.

This Acer system is covered by a full three-year warranty that covers parts and labor. Warranty repairs are handled by mail-in or carry to an Acer service center.

See a list of products from the Acer Computer Workshop show that aired
Monday, February 4, 2008 from 6 – 7 p.m. ET.
Technical Specs
http://www.qvc.com/el/el_TSV_E04782_Notebook_Specs.html
E04814
Configuration

System
Acer AS5520-5142 Notebook

Processor & Chipset
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-core TK-55 Processor*

Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium**

Utilities Software
1-year Subscription to McAfee Virus Scan Plus with 6-in-1 Protection and 1-year of Updates (Included with PC Treasures Software Suite)***

Memory
3GB Shared DDR2 SDRAM (667MHz)****

Battery
6-cell (44 WHr) Lithium-ion Battery*****

Display
Choice of:
15.4" Diagonal WXGA+ CrystalBrite TFT LCD******
or
17.0" Diagonal WXGA+ CrystalBrite TFT LCD******

Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce 7000M with TurboCache Technology*******

Weights and Dimensions
15.4” Diagonal Notebook:
Width: 14.40"
Height: 1.3/1.7"
Depth: 10.8"
Weight (lbs): 6.06********



I/O Ports
Four USB 2.0 (Universal Serial Bus) Compliant Ports
5-in-1 Memory Card Reader*********
IEEE 1394 port
External Display (VGA) Port Ethernet (RJ-45) Port
S-video/TV-out Port
Audio Jacks: Stereo Headphones/Speakers Mini-connector (Line-out), Microphone-in, Line-in Modem 56K (RJ-11) Port

Hard Drive
160GB SATA Hard Drive**********

Optical Drives
8X DVD+/-RW Super Multi Dual-layer Drive (Burns and Plays CDs and DVDs) with Double-Layer DVD+R Write Capability***********

Floppy Drive
None

Sound Card
Integrated Intel HD Audio Support

Webcam
Integrated Acer Crystal Eye Webcam************

Nylon Carrying Case
None

Speakers
Dolby-certified surround sound system with two built-in stereo speakers

Modem
Integrated v.92 56K Capable Modem*************

Keypad
88-/89-key Keyboard, Inverted T Cursor Layout, 2.5mm (minimum) Key Travel, Touchpad with 4-way Scroll Button, 12 Function Keys, Four Cursor Keys, Two Windows Keys, Hotkey Controls, Embedded Numeric Keypad and 4 Media Control Keys (Play/Pause, Stop, Next, and Previous).

Network Interface
Integrated Gigabit 10/100 Ethernet

Wireless Networking
Acer InviLink Wi-Fi Certified Card (802.11b/g) with Signal-up Internal Antenna**************

Service
3-year Limited Warranty***************


*AMD Athlon 64 enables 32- and 64-bit computing and maximizes performance for both current and future applications, resulting in quicker application loading and an excellent multimedia experience. AMD Athlon 64 performance delivers exceptional multitasking and multithreaded performance for both 32- and 64-bit environments. HyperTransport technology boosts overall system agility so your applications are responsive and you get incredible performance. AMD Athlon 64 technology featuring AMD Digital Media XPress delivers a rich experience on today's multimedia-enhanced software, enabling stellar performance and playback quality on digital entertainment such as games, streaming video and audio, DVDs, and music.

**Windows Vista Home Premium is the operating system for homes with advanced computer needs. It will help you use your laptop or desktop PC more effectively as well as enable you to enjoy new, exciting digital entertainment experiences – all with the benefit of added security and reliability.

***Your McAfee Security Subscription will arrive with the PC Treasures Software Suite that includes one year of service and included updates.

****Between 32 and 64MB of shared system memory may be allocated to support graphics, depending on system memory size and other factors. Dual-channel memory requires two each of the same capacity memory DIMMs.

*****Includes a 3-pin 65W AC adaptor.

******1280x800 pixel resolution, supporting simultaneous multi-window viewing via Acer GridVista.

*******NVIDIA GeForce 7000M with up to 896MB of TurboCache technology (256MB of dedicated system memory, up to 640MB of shared system memory).

********Starting at weight includes 15.4" WXGA+ display, DVD/CD-RW combo drive, and 6-cell Lithium-ion battery. Weights vary depending on configurations and manufacturing variability.

*********5-in-1 Media Card Connector accepts Memory Stick (MS), Memory Stick PRO (MS Pro), Secure Digital (SD)/SDIO, Multi Media card (MMC), and xD-Picture Card (xD).

**********Total storage capacity is 160 billion bytes (for hard drives, 1GB=1 billion bytes); actual accessible capacity is less. Your accessible capacity may vary depending on your operating environment and formatting, and various factors including your file size, file format, features and application software. Examples shown are for illustrative purposes only and are mutually exclusive.

***********QVC neither condones nor encourages the use of this, or any other similar technology to acquire unauthorized copies of copyrighted works, inclusive of, but not limited to, the download of pre-recorded music via the Internet. Not all DVD-R/-RW and DVD+R/+RW discs are compatible with all DVD-R/-RW and DVD+R/+RW players. Contact the manufacturer for further information.

************Integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam, supporting enhanced Acer PrimaLite technology.

*************Download speeds are limited to 53Kbps. Upload speeds are less (about 30Kbps). Speeds can vary by line condition and modem manufacturer. Analog phone line and service required.

**************Wireless capability and use of public wireless locations, or hot spots, may require a network connection, additional accessories, and a service connection fee, as well as a DSL or cable modem Internet connection. Access to, and use of, the Internet may require payment of a separate fee to an Internet Service Provider.

***************This Acer system is covered by a full three-year warranty that covers parts and labor. Warranty repairs are handled by mail-in or carry to an Acer service center.



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