Gateway Shareholders Sue Over Acer Acquisition

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Gateway shareholders express their outrage over the $710 million USD Acer acquisition.

Acer made a surprise move in late August when it announced its intentions to purchase U.S.-based Gateway, Inc. The deal was valued at $710 million USD and was crucial in helping Acer get a stranglehold on the U.S. market. Gateway is currently the fourth largest PC manufacturer in the U.S., while Acer is the third largest PC manufacturer in the world.

"The acquisition of Gateway and its strong brand immediately completes Acer's global footprint, by strengthening our US presence," said Acer chairman J.T. Wang at the time of the announcement.

"Acer has made impressive strides in the global PC market and the board and I welcome this merger," added Gateway CEO Ed Coleman.

All is not roses, however, when it comes to the merger. Shareholders in two separate lawsuits are claiming that Gateway was worth well more than the $710 million USD price tag that was agreed upon. The shareholders note that Gateway had a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders and was not putting its shareholders interests in mind when it agreed to the acquisition.

"The Company’s directors breached their fiduciary duties to stockholders by approving the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby, including but not limited to the Offer, and claims that these transactions are both unfair and coercive to the public stockholders in a sale of the Company," the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit goes even further to indicate that "The Company’s directors breached their fiduciary duties by failing to include certain information in the Schedule 14D-9, which purportedly denies the stockholders a fully informed voluntary choice whether to approve the Merger Agreement or seek appraisal."

Source: DailyTech