Can Gateway bounce back on its own?
Gateway Computer has long been something of a Rodney Dangerfield of computing; perceived neither as a cutting-edge company like, say, Apple or Sony, nor as an innovator in supply-chain management like Dell, the best the company could hope for was also-ran status, as a reliable, affordable brand. That might have been enough to make the company the third-largest PC-maker in the U.S., but the company has been on shaky ground for years, with management shakeups, strategic shifts and 13 unprofitable quarters. M&A zine The Daily Deal has a good summary of the company's history and prospects, and sees it as a likely acquisition target for suitors like Acer or Samsung, which could use the brand to bolster their U.S. market share (though we assume Samsung would have to wiggle out of its Dell deal first).
