Compaq's Winkler said the company is not looking at any acquisitions. Dell has always had a policy of growing internally and not through acqusitions. The company has only made one acquistion in its history, and that was to get into the storage business. The results have been mixed. The aversion to acquisitions comes from the nature of PCs themselves.
Computers made by one company are generally similar to PCs from another.
By purchasing a smaller PC company, a larger company is mostly acquiring only the customer base. By and large, the consolidation should happen the old-fashioned way, by gaining market share. Analysts believe Micron Electroncs' PC business will survive, but the division's long-term prospects are uncertain. The PC business has a couple of strong points, including government contracts, which make up about 45 percent of its sales, said Roger Kay, director of IDC's desktop research group. Gores, in its attempts to resell the PC business, would likely emphasize the government business and also tout its ability to provide contract manufacturing.