Lenovo still keen on Packard Bell

 

Gallery

By Reuters

Posted on 25 Sep 2007 at 15:15

Lenovo still has hopes of acquiring Packard Bell even after Gateway crashed the takeover party last month.

Lenovo held exclusive takeover talks with Packard-Bell in August in an effort to spearhead consumer expansion and quickly grab market share. Those plans were dealt a blow, however, when Gateway announced it would exercise its right of first refusal to buy Packard Bell, despite being the target of a $710 million takeover by Acer.

"Packard Bell is a great fit, and we're still very interested," confirms Lenovo chief executive Bill Amelio. "It's not over until it's over."

Amelio says his company, which is not currently in talks with Packard Bell, is waiting to see if a deal between Gateway and Packard Bell goes through before making its next move.

He also confirms that his company is interested in further acquisitions to springboard its move into global markets, though it is unlikely to take on any partners that will introduce instability to the company's operations, as it is still digesting IBM, bought in 2005.

Lenovo is in an intense battle for consumers with global leaders Dell and Hewlett Packard, as well as Acer, which would unseat Lenovo as the world's third largest PC maker if its acquisition of Gateway goes through.