Acer founder says he’s open to takeover amid stock price slide

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Acer founder Stan Shih said he would welcome a takeover of the struggling Taiwanese computer maker after a steep fall in its share price, while warning any potential buyer would pay a heavy price.

“Welcome,” Shih told reporters in response to a question about whether Acer would be open to a takeover. He added however that any buyer would get an “empty shell” and would pay dearly.

“U.S. and European management teams usually are concerned about money, their CEOs only work for money. But Taiwanese are more concerned about a sense of mission and emotional factors,” he said.

His remarks were first reported by Taiwanese media on Thursday and were confirmed by a company spokesman.

Acer has reported steep on-year sales falls in recent months, including a 33 percent drop in July.

It posted a T$176 million ($5.40 million) net profit in the first six months of 2015, versus a T$486 million net profit in the same period a year ago.

Its stock price has fallen by nearly half since early April.

(Reporting by Michael Gold; Editing by Stephen Coates)