A comment by the ASUS chairman even gives credence to the idea

Sep 20, 2013 08:46 GMT  ·  By

Soon, the layout on the tech industry might change quite a bit. We won't be jumping to conclusions, mostly because this isn't just a random merger report but one about two brands that are very well known worldwide, namely Acer and ASUS. That's right, a rumor has arisen, one that says Acer and ASUS might merge in the near future, just like Western Digital bought Hitachi months ago, and Microsoft acquired Nokia recently.

Right now, Acer makes various sorts of monitors and PCs, particularly laptops, while ASUS makes all those and more (graphics card, motherboards, etc.).

Thus, if the merger rumors end up being only partly true, and an acquisition happens instead, we imagine that ASUS will be the one doing the buying.

Either way, it's unlikely that Acer will disappear. After all, despite troubles on the shipment front, its brand is strong and widespread across the world.

Thus, either the two will make a sort of alliance, or ASUS will buy Acer but let it continue as a sort of sub-division, with Acer's CEO becoming part of ASUS' board of directors maybe.

Of course, there's always the possibility of the opposite happening, and it's not excluded that there won't be a merger at all.

After all, it's not so rare for rumors like this to emerge only to be debunked not much time later. Although, admittedly, this one does have some weight, thanks to a comment from ASUS Chairman Johnny Shih.

When questioned about a possible merger between the companies, Shih said that the industry was in a transition period and people should keep an open mind when it came to such maneuvers.

ASUS' main business, that of motherboards, isn't likely to skyrocket back to its previous success now that desktops are waning. No wonder it is focusing on mobile devices now. And with Acer doing the same, their interests coincide well enough.