Shuttle up for sale - report TAIWANESE wire Digitimes claims that both Acer and ECS have designs on small PC maker Shuttle.
It names both ECS and Acer as potential buyers of the firm, which has made its name by selling dinky little boxes that don't take up much room and can be carted around.
The wire is discounting ECS as a potential buyer because it is still attempting to digest Uniwill, which it bought from Tatung last year.
And Acer is keeping tight lipped about the speculation although it did say earlier this year it was considering one or two acquisitions.
Acer and ECS rumored to have plans to acquire ShuttleWith market rumors indicating that Shuttle plans to sell itself to another PC company, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) who has a good relationship with Shuttle is being named by market sources as one of two potential buyers. Acer is being named as the other.
ECS acquired Tatung's desktop division and second-tier notebook maker Uniwill Computer in 2006. The company's goal for 2007 is the integration of its upstream and downstream businesses, and to complete the integration of the company's three major business divisions. Therefore there is no need for the company to acquire Shuttle, pointed out sources at ECS.
On the other hand, Acer in previous reports has indicated that its acquisition target is not located in the US, is a small company, and may not be a pure notebook maker. As Shuttle fits all these terms, plus the fact that Acer has said it plans to to switch to SFF-based (small form factor-based) PCs for the majority of its desktop line in 2007, market sources believe that Acer is targeting to acquire Shuttle. However, Acer has refused to comment on the speculation.
I really hope this brings stability to Shuttle and their product line and not that they become a distant memory to the SFF world.
Maybe an injection of cash and a refocus on the specialist SFF area is just what they need to bring them back to the forefront of the SFF market.
