Acer to acquire Packard Bell?

Rumours have emerged suggesting that Taiwanese vendor Acer is poised to acquire European rival Packard Bell.

The vendor’s shares jumped on the news that the it is preparing to make a bid, with Bloomberg reporting a rise of 4.8 per cent to NT$74.60. The increase came after a senior PR representative appeared to confirm that Acer were in talks with Packard Bell.

"We can’t offer comments on the matter," senior public relations director at Acer, Henry Wang, told the Taipei Times yesterday. "There may be some changes going on in the deal…we can’t guarantee when exactly we will be able to announce the details."

Another report from Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily appeared to confirm reports with it quoting sources in the European vendor channel. Commenting upon the rumours, an analyst at Gartner, Amy Teng said: "The rumoured buyout may balance Acer’s portfolio in terms of the Asia-Pacific market."

Acer is currently the third largest PC vendor and has made clear that it sees Europe as a key area of expansion. It also said earlier this year that it was looking to expand through acquisitions.