09.05.2001
Compal, Quanta to gain from HP acquisition

• Development: Taiwan notebook (NB) PC makers generally responded positively to the announcement of HP’s acquisition of Compaq. The market discounted the possibility that the acquisition will lead to a consolidation of NB suppliers for HP and Compaq, with Compal and Quanta (2382) likely to retain their dominant positions.

• Analysis: The PC unit of the merged entity will be run by the current president of HP’s Computing System Department. This will probably benefit HP suppliers. Among Taiwan NB PC makers, Compal has the strongest relationship with HP (30% of NB shipment), followed by Quanta (10% ).

• Primasia View: We believe Compal and Quanta, as the larger and better-diversified of Taiwan’s NB producers, will benefit from the deal.