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Taiwan-based computer manufacturer Acer has some big plans to storm the top tiers of global PC companies with its announced acquisition plans of Gateway. Gateway, for those who don't remember, is based in Irvine, California, but started out on a farm in the Midwest.

The acquisition plans call for Acer to purchase all outstanding shares of Gateway at $1.90 a share, putting the net total of the proposed merger at approximately $710 million. The Acer/Gateway plan, pending all the usual standard closing conditions on a deal of this size, could be done by the end of the year.

The proposed behemoth which would emerge from this deal, said the two companies, would be the third largest PC company in the world with over US$15 billion in revenues and shipments in excess of 20 million PC units per year. It would be further enhanced overseas by the acquisition of the Packard Bell brand, which seems to be pretty popular still over in Europe. This is all on top of a possible sale of Gateway's professional business arm and continued low level operations of Gateway's eMachines brand.

So - we have four computer brands, a possible dropping of a business division and a global level operation in the making. What does this all mean? For average consumers in the United States you can probably expect to see slightly lower prices on average PCs sold at retail as competitors like HP develop new strategies and price points to ward off potential challenges from a perhaps reinvigorated Gateway brand.

For Gateway, it goes without saying that this once proud brand has not done well in recent years, seeing both market share and stock prices fall. Acer, a well liked brand overseas, has been slow in gaining US market share and will, despite lagging Gateway sales, still find itself becoming quite strengthened in both the domestic and global consumer computer markets.

Comments from Ed Coleman, CEO of Gateway, show where the Gateway brand might be heading after the merger is done:

"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 to expand the scope of the Gateway and eMachines brands around the world."

Gateway - a global player? It seems a strange thought to think but with Acer's established global placement it could well make the American cow brand a staple in select countries around the world. Got Gateway?

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As noted, this was more than a headline — the deal actually closed in mid‑October 2007. (abcnews.go.com) Gateway’s professional (business/education/government) arm was separated and sold to MPC (closing October 1, 2007), and that handoff changed who handled warranties and support for those customers. (sec.gov) Gateway’s CEO, Ed Coleman, departed after the integration phase concluded in January 2008. (edn.com)

Practical takeaway for anyone who owned or managed Gateway hardware at the time (or is researching legacy machines now): expect support ownership and service processes to have moved around. MPC’s later troubles show how risky that can be — schools and other buyers experienced warranty and repair disruptions after MPC ran into business failure. (eschoolnews.com)

On branding and product lines, Acer initially ran Gateway and eMachines alongside its own name, then later rationalized those sub‑brands; eMachines was discontinued in 2013 while Gateway and Packard Bell were repositioned regionally as Acer adjusted strategy and wrote down some brand value. (pcworld.com)

Short, practical checklist (use immediately if you’re dealing with an older Gateway system):

  • Register any remaining warranties and save purchase receipts and serial numbers.
  • Create recovery media and a full backup image while hardware still boots.
  • Download and archive drivers and support documentation from manufacturer pages.
  • For business deployments, confirm current SLA holder and get any warranty transfer in writing.
  • If support from the OEM is uncertain, budget for third‑party maintenance or spares.

This update fills the gap between the announcement and what actually happened afterward, and highlights concrete steps to protect data, warranty rights, and uptime during corporate reshuffles.

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