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Gateway’s professional business unit has finally found a buyer, with US-based direct to customer PC retailer MPC Corporation paying $90 million for the division.
The sale comes just weeks after Acer bought Gateway’s consumer division for $710 million.
MPC will assume ownership of Gateway’s Nashville-based final assembly plant as well as a portion of the company’s consumer direct unit, which focused on supplying companies with less than 100 employees.
The company will also retain many of the employees who formally were employed by Gateway’s professional business unit. MPC will also assume responsibility for all warranty and support issues.
Gateway has signed a definitive agreement to sell its professional business segment to MPC Corporation. The transaction is valued at approximately $90 million.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Financial Times, Acer’s CEO and chief executive Wang Jen-tang has confirmed that Acer intends to purchase Packard Bell and also expanded upon what its future would be within Acer’s portfolio of companies.
"We will keep Packard Bell as legal entity 100 per cent owned by Acer. Gateway will also be a private company that is 100 per cent owned by Acer," said Jen-tang. "On that basis we will help Gateway and Packard Bell create products, select ODM, purchase key components, handle logistics. This we are about."
He also alluded to Acer’s intention to expand into China with the acquisition of a Chinese-based company although stressed that the US and Europe were much more important to it at the present moment.
"The Chinese market is very important…but under our global strategy, the US market is even more urgent. So after we reinforce our leadership role in Europe and succeed in stabilising the US, we will start paying more attention to Asia."
