The $710 million price tag Acer Inc. is paying for Irvine-based Gateway Inc. should give the company more than just brand recognition.
The buy will likely help the Taiwanese computer maker pass its biggest rival, China’s Lenovo Group Ltd., and land the No. 3 spot worldwide.
With Gateway under its belt, Acer is set to have about $15 billion in sales and ship more than 20 million computers a year, Acer said in a statement.
Acer, which only is buying Gateway’s retail business, is paying a premium for the struggling computer maker. It’s offering $1.90 per share for Gateway, more than double what it’s been trading at recently.
Industry watchers long have speculated that Gateway’s only hope was to be bought out by a larger Asian rival.
Gateway’s known brand and retail business,computers sold online and through stores,were likely attractive features to Acer, according to Morningstar Inc. analyst Rick Hanna.
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Gateway buyout: Acer inherits brand recognition |
Acer was pegged as a likely suitor when earlier this year it announced it was looking to get a foothold among U.S. consumers.
In an interesting turn of events, Gateway made a move to block a deal between Lenovo and Orange County entrepreneur Lap Shun “John” Hui, who became one of Gateway’s biggest shareholders when he sold eMachines Corp. to the company in 2004.
Hui had struck a deal to sell European PC maker Packard Bell BV, which he owns, to Lenovo some weeks ago.
A legal agreement between Hui and Gateway, stemming from the sale of eMachines, gives Gateway the “first right of refusal” on any deal Hui makes with Gateway’s competitors. In other words, Gateway is exercising its right to buy Packard Bell.
The move is a nod to Acer, which is set to square off for market share with Lenovo.
Separately, Gateway said it is in talks with another buyer for its business unit, which sells computers to the government and other companies.
Acer’s buy of Gateway could close by year’s end, pending regulatory approvals in Taiwan and the U.S.
Startup Taps Broadcom Exec
A Carlsbad-based startup tapped a Broadcom Corp. executive to be its president and chief executive.
Luxtera Inc. said last week that Broadcom’s Greg Young is set to head the company, which pioneered a technology that integrates fiber optic circuits into chips.
Young most recently was vice president and general manager of two of Broadcom’s business units, the Ethernet controller group and the high-definition media, PC and video division.
Young is set to replace Alex Dickinson at Luxtera, who recently was appointed chief executive of another Carlsbad tech company that develops medical testing devices.
Young, 38, is set to help Luxtera move from a research phase to rolling out products.
The first product is a cable that uses circuits based on what’s called “silicon photonics,” or using lasers to make chips communicate in a network.
Luxtera is in a race with kingpins Intel Corp. and IBM Corp. to get the technology to market, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Young has had 15 years in the chip industry,first at Intel and later at Broadcom.
Broadcom has not yet named a successor for Young.
Luxtera got its start from a group of researchers at the California Institute of Technology back in 2001.
It’s entirely venture-backed and still gets research dollars from the university.
The company designs chips and has them produced by Austin, Texas-based Freescale Semiconductor Inc., the former chip making arm of cell phone maker Motorola Inc.
Ingram Hires Overseas
Santa Ana’s Ingram Micro Inc., the biggest distributor of electronics, computers and other tech gear, said it’s hiring a telecommunication veteran to head up the company’s overseas operations.
Jay Forbes, 46, was named executive vice president of Ingram Micro’s business in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
He’s replacing Hans Koppen, 64, who plans to retire at the end of the year.
Forbes is set to report to Alain Monie, president and chief operating officer for Ingram Micro, from its regional headquarters near Brussels, Belgium.
“Jay is taking over a well-run, consistently profitable organization that is a top performer in Europe,” Monie said.
Forbes has held top executive posts at a handful of Canadian companies.
Most recently, he was president and chief executive of Aliant Inc., a $2 billion telecommunication company.
D-Link Goes Hollywood
Fountain Valley’s D-Link Corp., which makes networking gear for small to midsize businesses, has had its products appear in several Hollywood productions.
Most recently, a D-Link camera had a cameo in the latest Die Hard movie, “Live Free or Die Hard,” starring Bruce Willis.
“Although product placement in major movies and TV is nothing new to consumers, it now transcends soft drinks and cars,” said Dan Kelley, a spokesman for D-Link.
Other notable D-Link screen and TV credits include “24,” “Extreme Makeover,” “Medium,” “Smallville,” “R U the Girl,” “Dotto Tech,” “Eureka,” “Instant Star,” “Intelligence,” “Justice,” “4400” and “Un Homme Mort.”
