Taiwanese firm becomes the world’s third largest PC manufacturer

Acer has confirmed its takeover of Gateway has finally been completed.

The PC vendor announced in August that it had agreed a deal to acquire its US-based rival and the acquisition now makes it the world's third largest PC manufacturer.

An Acer statement read: "Acer announced today that it has completed the merger of its indirect wholly owned subsidiary with Gateway."

Following the announcement, Acer will focus its attention on completing a deal for Packard Bell. Gateway has confirmed it will assert its right of first refusal for the France-based vendor that has been a long term target of Acer’s main rival, Lenovo.
Earlier this month, Acer outlined plans for how Gateway and Packard Bell will fit into its global strategy.

"Multi branding is the future," said Acer president, Gianfranco Lanci. "Our channel strategy will be very different from our competitors. We will use the Gateway and Packard Bell brands to meet different user needs."

Sarah Shields, European sales manager at Gateway, said the three-way deal would catapult Acer to the top of the UK consumer PC rankings, ahead of HP.

“The whole deal is very exciting," she said. "Based on the latest August data from [market-watcher] GFK, Acer, Gateway and Packard Bell have a combined market share of 37 per cent.

“Packard Bell has an exclusive relationship with Dixons Store Group and Acer and Gateway sell into the same retailers. So it will be about how they all sit side by side and how the brands are differentiated.”