Acer overtakes Lenovo with Gateway buyout
28 August 2007
Taiwan's Acer agreed to buy US PC maker Gateway for US$710 million yesterday, a deal that will overtake Lenovo as the world's third-largest computer maker, the Financial Times reported. Acer and Gateway together command 8.8% of the global PC market by unit shipments, followed by Lenovo at 7.9%, according to Gartner, a market research firm. The deal strengthens Acer's presence in the US market and also gives the company control over Packard Bell in Europe. Lenovo had expressed interest earlier this month in acquiring Packard Bell, but Gateway nixed the deal, exercising its right of first refusal. The Acer-Gateway deal is to be completed in December at the latest, with both companies expected draw in revenues in excess of US$15 billion.