Asian tech: Acer in the hole

Asia’s tech industry is starting to look like a closet packed with dusty computing brands. Taiwanese group Acer has agreed to pay $710m for rival Gateway - which controls both the eMachines label and the first right to buy European computer maker Packard Bell. While Acer hopes the deal will give it a leg up on the competition, it’s difficult to extract much value from brands whose best days are past. Acer thinks it can cut costs and use its newly acquired marques to expand US sales. If so, the ...