Dell announces Alienware acquisition

  • By Tom Krazit, News.com
  • Posted Mar 22, 2006 2:41 pm PT

Rumors prove true as PC hardware manufacturer picks up boutique high-end gaming PC company.

From News.com

Dell has agreed to purchase gaming PC maker Alienware, in a rare acquisition designed to improve Alienware's supply chain and boost Dell's standing among PC enthusiasts. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Alienware will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the world's largest PC maker, said Nelson Gonzalez, chief executive officer of Alienware. Gonzalez will now report to Jim Schneider, Dell's chief financial officer, but the company will operate separately from Dell, he said. The transaction should be finalized about 30 to 45 days after regulatory hurdles are cleared, Gonzalez said.

Alienware had considered raising capital through an initial public offering, but came to realize that being acquired by Dell would allow it to raise more money and to take advantage of Dell's supply chain and procurement expertise, Gonzalez said.

"We know our strengths and know our weaknesses, and one of our weaknesses has been supply chain," Gonzalez said.

Both companies use direct sales models to reach customers, but Dell is well known for its efficient manufacturing process. In fact, it's so well known for that strength that after rumors of the deal first surfaced, some analysts said a company like Alienware would not be a good fit with Dell. Alienware specializes in exotic designs and colorful systems that take longer to build than the standard building blocks used by many of Dell's PCs.

But Dell's efficiency will not hurt Alienware's product development process, Gonzalez said. "We're not going to sacrifice the design of a product for the sake of the efficiency," he said.

Alienware will also continue to offer PCs that use processors from both Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, he said. Dell has an exclusive relationship with Intel, but that will not affect Alienware's relationship with both chipmakers.

"I can't speak for [Dell's product plans], but from our vantage point, nothing has changed there," Gonzalez said.

83 Comments

  • mehoff88

    Posted Jul 31, 2007 12:31 pm PT

    how much was the acquistion???????

  • Absolut1on

    Posted Feb 6, 2007 2:06 pm PT

    Sweet, with alienware making greater profits from increased productivity and cheaper supplies of processors etc........

    LOWER PRICES!!!!!
    Can upgrade my aurora to the ALX!!!!....eventually anyway

  • chic-warmer

    Posted Nov 1, 2006 6:49 am PT

    OMG! the stupiddest thing gonzalez did...who the hell sells alienware to this freak company? DAMN! now where my alienware stand? :'(

  • Johny-EL

    Posted Apr 21, 2006 11:00 am PT

    screw alienware and dell. If youre too lazy to build your own go voodoo or falcon northwest. Falcon Northwest is made in america, has tech support in america and will accomidate almost any request for overclocking or other extremes.

  • peterzhao333

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:57 am PT

    Are we ever getting Dellalien or Aliendell PC's? Just like SQUARE ENix

  • nixc747er

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 2:19 pm PT


    I have to say..... It’s weird..... and sad at the same time.

    Hopefully something good will come out of this force marriage.

    But one thing positive is that Allienware will bread better with (Dell) daddy’s money. Like Frankeyser, we should wait to see how this thing is going to go!

  • jaefrmbk2k

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 9:18 am PT

    why don't you go & build you yer own awsum rig so you'll feel better

  • jaefrmbk2k

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 9:16 am PT

    i'm not a rich noob but i have a job & i don't have many billz/responsiblities so I'm gettin' an AM-DAlienWare i'm sorry you guys are little bit sad and mostly mad

  • boozbaby

    Posted Mar 24, 2006 1:10 am PT

    no more alienware for me

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 5:54 pm PT

    sweet for the 2 dudes that started alienware. do you know the story? read up on it and wish you thought of the idea.

  • D4rThx_xR3Lik

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 12:59 pm PT

    Alienware might be ruined.

  • D4rThx_xR3Lik

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 12:58 pm PT

    Thank god I bought and am using my Alienware right now before the big buy. I think that Dell might interfere with the designs and manufacturing process. Dell should of never entered the gaming market with their crappy XPS systems. They finally have ground to stand on in the gaming industry(the best). Other companies beware....

  • SlaveSpawn

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 12:49 pm PT

    Man...There goes Alienware's quality, prob. be made in mexico now by chinese and well get technical support from india. Guess I'll have to find another company to buy a highend gaming rig from now.

  • EZTARGET

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    I like Alienware but i don't like dell......

  • ApisBee

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 11:09 am PT

    Oh hogwash, Alienware just going to end up being another high-end cookie cutter PC. (IMHO)

  • mickel_darmawan

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 10:55 am PT

    mayeb the next thing, they will buy the falcon north west.

  • jonnyjd

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 9:02 am PT

    I'll still build my own but as I said before when this was a rumor: I don't think this will be a good idea in the long run. I may be wrong and hope I will be, but this doesn't seem like a good idea from a consumer's point of view.

  • ReyWing

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 7:41 am PT

    I agree, DJGeki, this can be a good thing. AlienDell... DellWare... hmm not as funny as BradJolina (Brad and Anjolina) and Bennifer (Ben and Jennifer). darn!

  • DJGeki

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 6:37 am PT

    Dell is not going to ruin Alienware. It's been agreed that AW will run as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dell, and the two will share best practices. It would be entirely too stupid for Dell to mess with a company that is working just fine. What I don't understand is how Dell's XPS line is going to be affected. Will Dell start using AMD procs now? PLEASE say yes! I'd like to buy an Alienware Aurora, but they're just too damned expensive. Maybe the assembly procedure that Dell is sharing w/ AW will bring their prices down.

  • soulessjay

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 6:11 am PT

    Interesting.

  • DirkVDV01

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 5:08 am PT

    Like Fatality4u mentioned "Dell, is probably now going to ruin Alienware":
    I agree completely. Looks like Dell is in another desperate attempt to lure people away from successful companies to increase there own reputation. It's not going to take long until people from Alienware start to see the dead bodies fall out of the closet and then they will find some other company which sells *quality* computers. Something that Dell still has to learn...

  • BruceLee16

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 4:48 am PT

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1908459,00.asp

  • Fatality4u

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 4:19 am PT

    Dell, is probably now going to ruin Alienware.

  • Tranceplant

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 1:17 am PT

    So it was true... well, I hope it's good news for everyone. Better PCs for us and better prices. Well... maybe.

  • dagamer667

    Posted Mar 23, 2006 12:11 am PT

    Well. After looking through Dell's site, I'd have to take some of my words back. Looks like they restricted the hardware options for non-XPS models in order to prevent them from competing with the XPS line. I'm not just talking about the inability to put in the Extreme Price Edition pentium. The choice of video cards is pretty bleak (X600 being the best available), and they don't even seem to offer hard drives with native command queueing or 10K rpm on non-XPS comps. Too bad. Dell used to offer pretty competent gaming systems before jumping on the bandwagon with XPS.

  • dagamer667

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 11:21 pm PT

    "well, looks like if I ever want a good pc, I'll have to build my own. Dell sucks. All of their pc's have built in video cards and are non upgradable, unless you buy their most expensive model. WRONG!! I bought a midrange Dell 3 years ago and have up graded almost everything inside as I have had the cash . (all from Newegg incidentally,) I currently enjoy all the high end games out there. Yes, I will probably be looking for a new comp soon......maybe an AlienWare!!"

    When buying Dell, you have to use your head when you customize the system. Usually, the default configurations they have on their site suck! I also have a four+ year old Dimension 8200 (P4, 1.7GHz Willamette), and it can play most new games even today (after an additional 512mb ram along with R9800pro). Oblivion doesn't run too well, though.

    It's perfectly possible to get a well-performing system for a good price from dell as long as you shop smart and clean out all the shovelware once you get the comp. And yes, XPS is overpriced stuff for ppl with more money than brains (if a fool has a lot of money, it's unethical not to help ease the great burden).

  • kingdevil

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 9:23 pm PT

    my dell 8200 is good but damm i should have wait 2 see this coming

  • pyth0n13

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 8:23 pm PT

    dell still sucks monkeys!! and shame on alienware for totally selling out. horrible day for pc gamers

  • GreyFoxV1

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 8:11 pm PT

    Well not like I could afford Alienware anyway, now I just wont even think about buying that crap.

  • Jugulator62

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 7:25 pm PT

    well, looks like if I ever want a good pc, I'll have to build my own. Dell sucks. All of their pc's have built in video cards and are non upgradable, unless you buy their most expensive model. WRONG!! I bought a midrange Dell 3 years ago and have up graded almost everything inside as I have had the cash . (all from Newegg incidentally,) I currently enjoy all the high end games out there. Yes, I will probably be looking for a new comp soon......maybe an AlienWare!!

  • Jugulator62

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 7:24 pm PT

    "well, looks like if I ever want a good pc, I'll have to build my own. Dell sucks. All of their pc's have built in video cards and are non upgradable, unless you buy their most expensive model." WRONG!! I bought a midrange Dell 3 years ago and have up graded almost everything inside when I have had the cash . (all from Newegg incidentally,) I currently enjoy all the high end games out there. Yes, I will probably be looking for a new comp soon......maybe an AlienWare!!

  • DrKill09

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 7:04 pm PT

    well, looks like if I ever want a good pc, I'll have to build my own. Dell sucks. All of their pc's have built in video cards and are non upgradable, unless you buy their most expensive model.

  • ncyfer

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 7:02 pm PT

    poor noobs buy from dell.
    rich noobs buy from alien.

    now dell owns all the noobs.

  • ncyfer

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 6:59 pm PT

    poor noobs buy from dell.
    rich noobs buy from alien.

    now dell owns all the noobs.

  • Gmex

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 6:22 pm PT

    i hope they keep seperate

  • secily

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 5:59 pm PT

    Wow who didnt see this coming. -sarcasm-
    get ready for more crap from a crap company like dell.

  • ebonyflame

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 5:53 pm PT

    I just don't get why all the whining is occurring. I have owned and used both Dell and Alienware PC's and both were high quality machines. Never could really afford to sacrifice so much to own an Alienware but always wanted one and have owned a Dell for qute some time and never had a problem with it. People that whine about the difference in the two computers are just elitists who have trouble understanding that one is made for casual computer users and the other is made for seriously hardcore computer users. Why is Dell #1 in PC's in America? Simple answer being for the money nobody beats what they offer which is good tech support, excellent warranties, and a price point not in the stratosphere where only people with deep pockets can own a computer. Could I build my own, yeah. But if mine breaks I am responsible for repairs where as if theirs break they will fix for the price of a phone call.

  • KarthikKane

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 5:52 pm PT

    Awesome that means Alineware is coming to Malaysia.

  • colinjennison

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 5:28 pm PT

    Building your own desktop PC is easy these days so a move like this is likely to only make less gamers buy an Alienware, unless they drop the prices.

  • sandjar

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 5:25 pm PT

    brblah00 good point. If the acquisition will make Alienwares cheaper I am all for it. But this will definitely affect the quality... or not.

  • mrblah00

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 5:16 pm PT

    God people, just build your own computer and save 700 bucks. If you know how to plug cords into sockets, then you know how to put together a computer. Its not brain surgery, the cords are even shaped like the things they have to be plugged into.

    check it out: www.newegg.com

  • Blazer88

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 5:12 pm PT

    BOOOOO!

  • chickonspeed

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:53 pm PT

    Oh please. Just shutup.
    I think this might turn out to be a good thing. They can learn a few things from eachother and both improve.

  • rbarahona

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:46 pm PT

    Good Luck to both companies; I really hope that now I will be able to get one of those Alienware machines.

  • Kayrod29

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:37 pm PT

    This is awesome, everyone hates Dell and I love Dell and I'm a winner yay!

  • townsenda1

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:37 pm PT

    To me Alienware was always so expensive. Too expensive if you ask me. But maybe this will bring down the price.

  • prplhz

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:27 pm PT

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dell will ruin alienware. i have an alienware and i never will go back to the crap that is a dell system

  • IgnatiusX

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:22 pm PT

    Great. Now we're going to hell everytime we buy an Alienware. Man, build your own PCs now, cause Dell sucks and Alienware does too. Even Voodoo is insane.

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:10 pm PT

    I'd rather build my own PC thank you very much.

  • NeokVash19

    Posted Mar 22, 2006 4:08 pm PT

    Man alienware computers are awesome but at the same time they're so unaffordable to everyone who's not ready to pay some bucks for it. I wonder what will happen after this....

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