Asus to swallow up Gigabyte?
 

Rumor in Taiwan has it that Asus seeks to acquire long-time rival Gigabyte Technology. The merger would aim to thwart competition from Foxconn, which is close on Asus' tail in terms of motherboard shipments. DigiTimes quotes 52 million motherboards shipped for Asus in 2005, and 40 million for Foxconn, including 32 million OEM shipments. If Asus and Gigabyte were merged, though, the combined company would have shipped just over 68 million motherboards in 2005, leaving Foxconn in the dust. Overall, sources tell DigiTimes that Asus' share of the motherboard market would climb to 45% after the rumored merger, thanks in part to Gigabyte's strength in distribution.