Acer buys US-based cloud computing firm iGware for $320m, as it makes its moves towards fields outside its hardware business.
The acquisition includes another $75m in performance-based earn-out.
The sale is the 5th-largest Taiwanese buyout of an American company. Acer itself made the largest of such deals back in 2007, when it bought out Gateway for $761.5m
While iGware is not a very familiar name, the company provides cloud-based device ecosystems, virtual consoles and personal cloud services for more than 100m consumer devices-- including Nintendo's gaming systems.
"Companies can no longer rely only on hardware" Gartner's Tracy Tsai says on Acer's acquisition, describing it as a move towards "the right direction."
Following the sale iGware will become Acer Cloud Technology Company, and will launch Acer-branded cloud products and services in 2012.
