Acer is getting serious about becoming a major player in the computer industry. They recently reached an agreement to purchase Gateway, Inc. for $710 million. Although Gateway had fallen off the map as of late, this acquisition is sure to move Acer up the computer industry ladder.

Gateway is the fourth largest PC manufacturer in the United States. Each year, they ship approximately 20 million units. But now, these numbers will all be credited to Acer. This will immediately send them to the number three spot as far as computer production is concerned.

“The acquisition of Gateway and its strong brand immediately completes Acer’s global footprint, by strengthening our US presence. This will be an excellent addition to Acer’s already strong positions in Europe and Asia. Upon acquiring Gateway, we will further solidify our position as number three PC vendor globally,” said Acer chairman J.T. Wang.

So what does this mean to consumers, you may ask? Simply put, it will give buyers more options when shopping for a notebook or desktop PC. It is too early to tell if Acer will be able to make a run at the front runners, Dell and Hewlett Packard, but it is safe to say that they will now have the resources to do so.

In addition to Gateway, Acer will also acquire eMachines; a company that Gateway purchased not too long ago. Even though eMachines does not have a huge following, their value based brand is sure to meet the needs of people from all over the world.

Adding Gateway to their portfolio will give Acer a much stronger presence in the North American market; an area where they have struggled to keep up as of late. At this time it is thought that the Gateway brand will stick around. In other words, Acer will not just produce units with their name on them.

It will be interesting to see how this move shapes the computer industry in the years to come. The details of this deal are set to be finalized by no later than December. This will give everybody a chance to see what Acer can do as 2008 gets underway.

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