Gateway to acquire Packard Bell, Lenovo misses out

By Suzanne Deffree, News Editor -- Electronic News, 10/9/2007

Irvine, Calif.-based Gateway Inc. today announced that it has delivered a binding offer to acquire all of the shares of PB Holding Company S.à.r.l., the parent company of Packard Bell B.V., a leading European PC vendor based in Paris that China-based PC giant Lenovo Ltd. had recently expressed interest in acquiring.

Gateway, itself, is in the process of being acquired by Acer Inc.,  which has agreed to fund Gateway’s acquisition of PB Holding and Packard Bell. Taiwan-based Acer believes that with the $710 million Gateway buy, expected to close by year end, and consequent Packard Bell acquisition, it will firmly sit as the world’s third ranking PC vendor, a spot it and competitor Lenovo had been battling for in recent quarters.

Lenovo in August announced it had its sights set on Packard Bell, but wisely warned its investors that such an acquisition might not occur.

Gateway will buy the shares from Lap Shun (John) Hui and Clifford Holdings Ltd., an entity controlled by Hui. The PC maker had previously announced that it would exercise its right of first refusal to acquire Hui’s indirect interest in Packard Bell. Gateway acquired the right of first refusal as part of a June 2006 agreement with Hui that waived certain non-compete arrangements in connection with his purchase of Packard Bell. Hui sold the privately held eMachines Inc. to Gateway in March 2004.

The Gateway-Packard Bell transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is anticipated to close sometime in Q4 or Q1 2008.