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.

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“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)