Shares in Chinese computer firm Lenovo fell sharply today following suggestions that Gateway could block its plans to buy rival Packard Bell.
Shares in Taiwan's Acer also fell today following yesterday's news that it was to pay $710 million (€520.18 million) for loss-making rival Gateway to gain a place as the world's third largest PC manufacturer.
Analysts said that Acer's offer to pay $1.9 per share was over the odds for Gateway, which has shown lacklustre growth in recent years.
The loss of Packard Bell for Lenovo could be a blow to the company's ambitions as the company is seen as a strategic part of Lenovo's drive into the European and US markets.
However, other analysts have suggested that the company is not vital to Lenovo and that it may indeed by too soon for the company to purchase Packard Bell following its acquisition of IBM's PC division in 2005 for $1.25 billion.