Packard Bell sold to Gateway man

NEC has flogged Packard Bell to the man who has a huge stake in the troubled American Gateway outfit.

John Hui is a key shareholder in Gateway after flogging his eMachine's retail business to them in 2004. More recently he has been unsuccessfully trying to buy Gateway's retail arm off them.

A spokesPackard Bell said the sale meant the company had an owner who understood the cycles of the industry and above all is well connected in China and in Taiwan at a time when the industry is shifting to these countries.

Packard Bell used to belong to the French IT group Bull and had sales worth 1.5 billion euros and its sales are mostly focused on Europe.

What is clear now is that if Hui had managed to take Gateway's retail arm off them, he would have now been in control of an extremely big and powerful international hardware company and distribution company.

More here.