Dell buys Alienware... nuff said.

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Quote:

Dell to buy Alienware in gaming computer expansion



By Philipp Gollner 2 hours, 16 minutes ago



SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Dell Inc. (Nasdaq: DELL - news) said on Wednesday it agreed to buy gaming-computer maker Alienware Corp., part of a push into the lucrative computer gaming market that could help the No. 1 PC maker boost profit.

ADVERTISEMENT



Terms of the transaction weren't disclosed. Privately held Alienware, based in Miami, will operate as a separate unit and keep its product development, marketing, sales and technical support staff as well as its brand, Dell said in a statement.



A Dell spokesman said the acquisition was financially immaterial to Dell, which had revenue of $55.9 billion last year compared with Alienware's $200 million.



"This is good news for Dell's consumer market," said Ted Schadler of Forrester Research Inc. "It is kind of re-upping Dell's commitment to that market."



Dell, of Round Rock, Texas, has been expanding in the computer gaming market, launching a supercharged, $9,900 version of its high-end XPS line of computers in January. Gaming PCs can sell for five to 10 times as much as desktop PCs.



Dell is trying to boost profit in its consumer business, which accounts for 15 percent of revenue, after it posted slower-than-forecast growth last year as it lowered prices on entry-level PCs too aggressively.



Chairman Michael Dell, announcing an aggressive push into consumer electronics, said in January about 20 percent of PC users, or about 40 million people, are gamers and that the company wanted to capitalize on the high-performance gaming market.



The purchase renewed speculation that Dell, which exclusively uses chips made by Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news), may begin using microprocessors by Intel competitor Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD - news), which run Alienware computers.



Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn said the company was not contemplating switching chip suppliers.



"Our strategy in terms of suppliers that we work with is unchanged," Blackburn said. "This doesn't signal that we are changing that."



Stock of AMD rose 2.1 percent in extended trade after slipping 0.2 percent in regular trading. Intel shares rose 0.3 percent.



"This is a good way for Dell and AMD to get to know each other a little better," said JoAnne Feeney, an analyst with Punk, Ziegel & Co. "There is not going to be any immediate impact on AMD sales, but it makes it more likely that Dell and AMD will work together in other areas."



(Additional reporting by Scott Hillis in San Francisco)




Link of the site I got the info, yahoo news.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060323/...NlYwN5bmNhdA--



Wow I'm a bit shocked but I guess I shouldn't have been, I was hoping Apple would buy them but I guess that would have been a really big shock!!



I think this (from a buisness point of view) is a great move for Dell, they eliminated there chief rival (when it came to video game systems) and added it to there collective... resistance is futile (sorry couldn't resist)



But seriously I would love to know the actual agreements that were made and if Alienware computers will have Dell logos? And will they offer the AW computers in there catalogues?



What do you guys think?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    gene cleangene clean Posts: 3,481member
    "...nuff said..." what?
  • Reply 2 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gene Clean

    "...nuff said..." what?



    Sorry I was kind of talking to myself when I posted that, its late and I'm tired..

    (And yes I know I'm a bit crazy but hey is being crazy a crime? )



    But if a Mod could fix the title, I would really apreciate it



    Anyway could we get back on topic please?
  • Reply 3 of 12
    eckingecking Posts: 1,588member
    This looks like it doesn't change anything other than what name is on the paycheck on at the end of the day - what used to read alienware will now read dell in the accounting books, other than at face value most likely no one will realize the change.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ecking

    no one will realize the change.



    Hmmm... I've see the opposite happen too many times before but I'd be pleasantly surprised if Dell stayed hands-off there.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    This is a purely on-paper acquisition I think. Alienware will continue to overprice its systems and market to twelve-year-olds, and Dells will still have shitty integrated graphics.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Don't know if AMD is such a great idea anymore, after we saw that the iMac benchmarked similarly to a 3800 X2 system in Windows XP. In other words, Alienware could run Intel without sacrificing performance.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    Quote:

    I was hoping Apple would buy them



    Why? How would have Apple used them? They are competitors.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ThinkingDifferent

    Why? How would have Apple used them? They are competitors.



    How's that? I don't see Apple having any kind of presense in any of Alienware's markets. It would have filled the gapping holes in Apple's lineup.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ThinkingDifferent

    Why? How would have Apple used them? They are competitors.



    First off, there is very little overlap in Apple's and Alienware's lineups. Second, Dell was a competitor as well, with their XPS line. Chances are this is the death knell to XPS.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    benroethigbenroethig Posts: 2,782member
    XPS wasn't going to sell well anyway since they don't use a standard ATX motherboard.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    you know, i used to be all about the "ooh" and "aah" for alienware stuff, but then i saw their towers in person (rather than on their website) and laptops in the airport when gamerZ were using them and you know what, they STILL looked cheap. i was especially disappointed with the laptops... those huge rubberized whatevers on the screen back are distracting and f-ugly, making them look like fat thinkpads with a new skin. and the towers are H-U-G-E, and despite the metallic paint job, are still just a whole lotta plastic-ensconced empty space.



    if you're a gamer, you'd have to know you'll be swapping cards and drives and boards and ram often through the life of your rig to keep up, so wouldn't you rather save the $$$ on the case, get something barebones ugly but easy to configure and swap out? hide it under a desk and you're good to go.



    honestly, i think this was dell trying to buy street cred, and in classic roll-your-eyes-at-your-parents-for-trying-to-act-cool fashion, you can't BUY street cred.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    placeboplacebo Posts: 5,767member
    The way I look at it is buy the components on Newegg and put them in a Vento 3600 case with some lights added. Bingo, an Alienware for $600 cheaper and a similar, but nicer-looking, case.
Sign In or Register to comment.