Packard Bell has been kicked around over the years, eventually halting U.S. operations and seeking to rebuild in Europe. While initially there were rumors of Lenovo seeking to acquire the company, it ended up being Acer who announced plans to actually do such, late last year. Now that is coming to a close and Acer has acquired Packard Bell. It is interesting how they accomplished this, first taking over Gateway to get at the smaller company.
The article speculates that Acer's intentions for acquiring the company were to prevent Lenovo from doing such, in an attempt to stifle Lenovo's expansion in Europe. True or not, it doesn't seem that acquiring Packard Bell gives Acer any real advantage anywhere except in Europe, though that could be their goal as well.