Acer Inc, the world's fourth-largest computer maker, said yesterday that it was sorting out the content of a lawsuit brought by rival Hewlett-Packard Co (HP), a case some analysts viewed as a move to halt Acer's fast-growing penetration of the North American market.
"We respect the intellectual property rights of other companies and we are now gaining a full understanding on the matter," Acer said in a statement.
Acer will continue to safeguard its customer's interests during the lawsuit, the statement said.
"We haven't received any documents pertaining to the lawsuit and are not sure about the allegations made by Hewlett-Packard Co," Steven Wang (王穎駿), Acer's director of global finance, said at the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
The lawsuit was not on the agenda of yesterday's Acer board meeting, he said.
Acer's stock fell 0.5 percent yesterday to close at NT$64.1 (US$1.9) on the local bourse, after Hewlett-Packard, based in Palo Alto, California, filed a suit on Tuesday in US District Court in Texas, alleging that Acer infringed on five of its patents, including those related to the management of a computer's processor and power system.
The lawsuit seeks to stop Acer from selling certain products in the US, including desktops, notebooks, media centers and related products.
"We understand why competitors would desire a halt to Acer's expansion in the US market," Henry King (金文衡), an analyst for Goldman Sachs Group Inc, said in a report yesterday.
"Acer has been continuously delivering high PC shipment growth and gaining market share -- especially in the notebook segment -- in various markets. It has become a threat that leading PC vendors cannot afford to neglect," he said.
Acer plans to increase its notebook shipments by as much as 40 percent this year, with revenue contribution from the North American market predicted to reach 25 percent, up from 18 percent to 20 percent last year, the report said.
"The lawsuit may cause Acer to feel a short-term hit in buying sentiment and the longer-term impact will depend upon the progress of the lawsuit," King said.
Acer yesterday reported a 20.5 percent rise in profits to NT$10.22 billion last year, with consolidated revenues growing 16 percent to NT$369.09 billion.
Meanwhile, Acer announced at the stock exchange yesterday that it has given the go-ahead for the sale of Sertek Inc (建智), its fully owned electronic component distributor, to Yosun Group (友尚), which specializes in sales and services of semiconductor electronic components.
Yosun will fully acquire Sertek through an exchange of shares and cash and Acer shall become a member of Yosun's board.
"Yosun is one of Taiwan's leading electronic component distributors. The acquirement of Sertek will expand Yosun's business scale -- an important factor in sustaining operations in this competitive market," Acer said in a statement.
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