Asustek may be interested in possibly acquiring HTC, but the smartphone and tablet computer maker is making it very clear that it is not interested in being wooed by Asustek.
The chairman of Asustek, Johnny Shih, commented last week at the company’s annual investor’s meeting that Asustek might want to pursue an acquisition of HTC, according to a June 12 report by Reuters. “Our chairman has chatted about the topic internally,” David Chang, the chief financial officer of Asustek, told Reuters.
HTC quickly responded to the issue once it became public, posting a note on its corporate Website on June 15 saying that it has no interest in any acquisition move by its rival.
“We strongly deny the news,” the statement says. “We didn’t contact Asustek and will not consider the acquisition. As an international brand, HTC will continue to design world-class innovative smart devices through its pursuit of brilliance brand promise.”
Both companies are based in Taiwan. Asustek, which is also known as Asus, makes motherboards, computers, tablets, smartphone and other products.
Chang later clarified his original statement, according to Reuters, saying that “the chances of an actual takeover are not big as Asustek is a company that has depended on organic growth.”
HTC has been having a tough time in the smartphone market as competition has increased from Apple and Samsung as well as from cheaper rivals in growing markets in India, Asia and other parts of the world.
In March, HTC unveiled its latest HTC One M9 flagship smartphone (pictured) at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, packing it with upgrades and a performance boosts over its predecessor, the HTC One M8. The HTC One M9 features a 5-inch, full HD 1080p display, an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in storage, a 20MP rear-facing camera and a 2,840mAh battery. The phone runs on the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system.