Jun 18, 2015
Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC hasn’t exactly been in rude health of late. Its smartphones and tablets at the top-end of the spectrum have been constantly overshadowed by releases from Samsung and LG, and at the mid-range, it is struggling against fellow Taiwanese major Asus, and startups like OnePlus over the past year or two. What’s just as alarming, is that the company doesn’t even have a presence at the entry-level, which is of paramount importance, if you’re looking to compete in the fast-growing emerging markets. Gone are the heady days of the Hero and the Evo, and the company has mostly been reduced to a footnote in the world of smartphones amidst falling market share, mounting losses and plummeting stock prices. It is in this scenario, that there are continuing speculations about the company being up on the auction block, with names of potential buyers like Asus and Acer doing the rounds over the past several days.
Now however, Acer has come forward to deny their interest in buying the struggling smartphone maker, formerly known as High-Tech Computer Corporation. According to Taiwanese publication Digitimes, the CEO of Acer, Mr. Jason Chen, has categorically denied having any interest in buying or merging with the beleaguered smartphone manufacturer as of now. Mr. Chen was responding to a query at the company’s latest shareholders meeting, where he was asked about Acer’s reported plans of acquiring HTC. Mr. Chen however, said Acer plans to keep investing in its own smartphone business, but would prefer to grow organically, rather than through any M&A activity. Not only did Mr. Chen deny all acquisition rumors, he even hoped HTC would get back to the pink of health within the next year and a half. Acer of course, would know all about tiding over tough times and getting back to profitability, as the company itself has done so over the past 18 months, having been struggling to stay afloat with a shrinking PC business, and a struggling smartphone business. It was said at the time, that Acer had been approached by three smartphone makers for merger talks, but the company was eventually able to wiggle out of that situation.
It bears mentioning here, that Digitimes can sometimes be on spot, or on other occasions, it has been known to be way off. So as long as this report is not confirmed by more reliable sources, I’m afraid we’ll have to take this one with a grain of salt.
SOURCE: Android Headlines