Gateway makes a bid for Packard Bell
The reorganization at Gateway Inc. continues.
In August, Gateway, No. 54 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, announced plans to be acquired by Acer Inc. in a deal valued at approximately $719 million. That deal, which would make Gateway and Acer the third-largest personal computer manufacturer with combined annual revenue of more than $15 billion and shipments in excess of 20 million units per year, is now followed by the announcement that Gateway will acquire computer maker Packard Bell B.V. from Lap Shun (John) Hui and Clifford Holdings Ltd, an entity controlled by Hui. The deal is valued at approximately $44 million.
Hui, who sold eMachines Inc. to Gateway in March 2004, currently owns a 75% interest in PB Holding, the parent company of Paris-based Packard Bell. Under the terms of the deal, both parties have agreed to work with the Works Councils in France and the Netherlands to secure anti-trust and other regulatory approvals, Gateway says.
Acer has agreed to fund Gateway’s acquisition of PB Holding and Packard Bell in connection with the planned merger between it and Gateway, which is expected to close by December. The Packard Bell deal also is expected to close in December or in the first quarter.
In September Gateway announced it was getting out of the business of making and selling computers to business and will concentrate exclusively on consumers by selling its professional business segment, including the company’s Nashville computer configuration center, to MPC Corp. in a deal valued at $90 million. Based in Nampa, ID, MPC manufactures desktop and notebook PCs, servers and data storage systems for business and government. The deal is also expected to close by the fourth quarter.
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