Dell Snaps Up Alienware

March 8, 2008 – 6:22 PM

Dell has agreed to purchase high-performance PC vendor Alienware, the two companies announced Wednesday.

The acquisition will “complement Dell’s own line of high-performance computers,” while giving the Alienware products the benefits of Dell’s “supply chain and operational efficiencies,” the companies said in a statement.

Details

The purchase, which was rumored for weeks, is expected to clear regulatory requirements in 30 to 60 days. Ultimately, the acquisition will shorten the time it takes for customers to get their hands on Alienware’s sleek gaming workstations and laptops.

It can take from four to six weeks for customers to take possession of some of Alienware’s products, said Mark Vena, an Alienware spokesman. For Dell that lead time is generally less than 10 days, he said. “They’re absolutely world-class in that area.”

Dell already sells high-end workstations under its XPS brand, but with the Alienware acquisition it gets something that the Round Rock, Texas-based company would have had a hard time creating on its own: gamer cachet.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,125190,tk,dn032306X,00.asp