Acer of Taiwan agreed to buy Gateway of the US for $710m on Monday. A deal would put it ahead of Lenovo, its Chinese rival, as the world’s third-largest personal computer maker.

The transaction, approved by the boards of both companies, will strengthen Acer’s position in the US retail market. It will also give it control of Packard Bell in Europe, a PC vendor, only weeks after Lenovo announced it was in exclusive talks to acquire the company.