Taiwan's Acer to Acquire Gateway
Filed at 11:14 a.m. ET
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Acer Inc. plans to acquire U.S. computer maker Gateway Inc. for $710 million in a deal that will push the Taiwanese company past China's Lenovo Group as the world's third largest vendor of personal computers.
Acer said Monday it is offering to buy Gateway for $1.90 per share in a deal expected to close by December, pending regulatory approvals in Taiwan and the U.S.
The offer price amounts to a premium of 57 percent to Gateway's Friday closing price of $1.21. Gateway traded at $81.50 in 1999.
Gateway shares jumped nearly 49 percent, or 59 cents, to $1.80 Monday.
The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Gateway and Acer and is subject to standard closing conditions, it said.
The deal will create a multi-branded computer company with over $15 billion in revenues and shipments in excess of 20 million units per year, Acer said in the statement.
''This strategic transaction is an important milestone in Acer's long history,'' said J.T. Wang, Acer's chairman, in the statement. ''This will be an excellent addition to Acer's already strong positions in Europe and Asia.''
Acer President Gianfranco Lanci said the acquisition will allow Acer to implement an ''effective multi-brand strategy and cover all the major market segments.''
The takeover will result in reductions in per unit procurement and component costs, and also create an opportunity for the cross-selling of product portfolios, he added.
Ed Coleman, chief executive of Gateway, welcomed the buyout.
''Joining with Acer will enable us to bring even more value to the consumer segments we serve and capitalize on Acer's highly regarded supply chain operations and global reach,'' he said in the statement.
In the second quarter, Acer was the world's fourth-largest PC maker behind U.S.-based Hewlett-Packard, No. 2 Dell, and third-ranked Lenovo Group Ltd. of China, according to research company Gartner Inc. Irvine, California-based Gateway is the third-largest PC vendor in the U.S. by market share after Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc.
Bryan Ma, an analyst at U.S. market research firm IDC, told Dow Jones Newswires that Acer's acquisition of Gateway is expected help the Taiwan company's relatively weak presence in the U.S.
''Acer ranked sixth in the U.S. market, while Gateway ranked third as of the second quarter. Combined, they are expected to double their shipments,'' he said.
Citigroup Inc. is the financial adviser for Acer, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is acting as the financial adviser for Gateway.
宏碁董事長王振堂今天宣布宏碁創辦以來最大購併案，將以每股1.9美元，總額7.1億美元併購美國第四大個人電腦廠商Gateway，並已完成簽約，預期合併案在年底前完成。合併後，宏碁年營收將超過150億美元，PC年出貨量逾2000萬台，站穩PC市佔全球第三大。
王振堂下午在台北遠東飯店召開記者會，透過視訊與Gateway執行長Ed Coleman共同宣布宏碁有史以來最大的購併案，王振堂指出，兩家公司董事會已通過這項購併案，但完成公開收購程序仍需相關簽約及約定條件的完成，包括 台灣及美國主管機關依據相關法令的核准，預期合併案將在年底前完成所有程序。
王振堂指出，宏碁將以每股1.9美元，在市場上公開收購Gateway流通在外的股數，總交易金額將達到7億1000萬美元，這項購併案已獲得 Gateway創辦人和最大股東的支持，宏碁計畫蒐購Gateway九成的股權，屆時Gateway將下市，成為宏碁的子公司，如果只蒐購到五成的股權， 則購併案還要經過Gateway股東會同意。
Gateway也表示，計劃執行對於歐洲個人電腦廠商Packard Bell的優先承購權；另外，目前正和其它廠商洽談出售其針對大型企業、政府及教育學術單位的商用客戶部門（Professional business）。
王振堂表示，這項併購案是宏碁經營品牌30多年來的重大里程碑。宏碁併購Gateway後，加上Gateway執行對於Packard Bell的優先承購權，這項併購案將發揮更大的綜效，不但可強化宏碁在美國市場的地位，再加上宏碁目前在歐洲及亞洲市場的有利地位，立即讓宏碁PC全球排 名穩坐第三。
宏碁總經理蔣凡可．蘭奇（Gianfranco Lanci）則強調，宏碁和Gateway不論在主要市場上的佈局，或是產品定位上都能充分互補，合併後的規模亦會產生顯著的經濟效益。併購 Gateway後，宏碁將可透過多品牌的產品，滿足全球各主要市場消費者的需求，亦可從Gateway獲得世界級的經營團隊及優質員工。
Ed Coleman說，他與Gateway董事會都十分贊同這項合併案，相信宏碁是理想的合作夥伴，因為宏碁近年來在個人電腦市場快速成長，令人印象深刻，雙 方在主要市場及產品上能互補，也都重視通路夥伴。Gateway處分商用客戶部門後，將使得Gateway整體營運更聚焦，也更突顯Gateway在經銷 與直銷領域的價值。
宏碁與Gateway的合併案預期將使整體營收顯著成長，在營運規模的增加和整合雙方管理資源後，除了提升營運效率，也能節省管銷開支，預計併購案可望節省成本約1.5億美元，宏碁明年的每股盈餘，將因併購案有所增加。
這項合併案的洽談過程中，宏碁聘請花旗集團(Citigroup Global Markets Inc.)擔任獨家財務顧問，而Gateway則是聘請高盛證券（Goldman Sachs）擔任顧問。
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