Windows Phone Thoughts: Acer Acquires E-TEN

"Acer Inc. (TWSE 2353), the world's third-largest branded PC vendor (Source: Gartner 4Q 2007) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire E-TEN Information Systems Co., Ltd. (TWSE 2432), the world-renowned designer and manufacturer of smart handheld devices. Under the terms of the agreement, Acer Inc. will offer a share exchange with ratio of 1: 1.07 for all the outstanding shares of E-TEN, which represents total equity value consideration of approximately NT$9 billion. The new issued shares will represent approximately 6% of total Acer outstanding shares. The acquisition has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both E-TEN and Acer and is subject to standard closing conditions, including obtaining approval from Shareholders Meetings and the Governmental Regulators. We expect the acquisition to close during Q3 2008."



This is a big move by Acer. The company has typically focused on standalone PDAs, and even then, they've been few and far between. E-TEN, on the other hand, has typically focused on smartphones with enhanced multimedia and wireless capabilities. So, we could see some interesting Windows Mobile devices come out of Acer in the years ahead - that is, assuming they don't neglect the potential of this acquisition. Acer Glofiish? Hmm, that'll take some getting used to.