Sampoerna

Sampoerna (PT Hanjaya Mandala Sampoerna Tbk) is an Indonesian tobacco company whose cigarette brands are smoked by millions of Indonesians. It is reportedly the largest Indonesian tobacco company, ahead of Gudang Garam and Djarum. In May, 2005, subsidiaries of Altria Group completed the acquisition of 98% of the company. A bloc of approximately 40% of the outstanding stock was sold by the controlling Sampoerna family, especially by Putra Sampoerna, and other insiders in a negotiated transaction and the remaining shares were purchased in a tender offer. The series of transactions valued the company at approximately $5.2 billion. The investment in Sampoerna represented a strategic move for Altria, as although Marlboro is by far the most popular Western-style (non kretek cigarette), most Indonesians still smoke kretek cigarettes.
Sampoerna reported 2005 Net Sales of 24.66 trillion Rupiah (approximately $2.6bn using the June 6, 2006 exchange rate) resulting in 1.99 trillion Rupiah Net Income.
It produces kretek-type cigarettes, flavoured with cloves and spices. Its most popular brand is Sampoerna 'A' Mild, a filter cigarette in white paper. The filter has a sweet coating of sugar and spices. Although the cigarette is described as mild, it contains similar tar and nicotine levels to Marlboro Red. Along with variations on the Sampoerna Brand (filterless (known as Hijau, or green), menthol, etc.), the company's other key brand is "234" (pronounced Dji Sam Soe), an unfiltered cigarette with 39mg of tar and 2.3 mg of nicotine per stick. Dji Sam Soe is the most premium cigarette in Indonesia. Its retail price per pack is the same with Marlboro Red (20 sticks), whilst 234 is packed 16 sticks. [1].
The company is named after the founding Sampoerna family, and was founded in 1913.
In 2001, Putera Sampoerna also founded Sampoerna Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to improve the access to, and quality of education in Indonesia. After the Phillip Morris acquisition, the Foundation became an independent entity run by a team of professionals, while the Sampoerna family members remain to be the Foundation's Board of Patrons and Supervisors.
Aside from scholarship provision, Sampoerna Foundation also established several education quality improvement programs such as Sampoerna Foundation United Schools Program (SF USP), Sampoerna Foundation Teacher Institute, Sampoerna School of Business and Management-Institut Teknologi Bandung (Sampoerna SBM-ITB) and Sampoerna Language Centre.

Acer

Founded
1976
Founder
Stan Shih et al.
Headquarters
Taipei, Taiwan
Industry
Computer
Products
Laptops, Desktop Computers, IT services
Subsidiaries
Acer Computer Australia, Acer India, Acer America Corporation

Website
www.acer.com

Acer (LSE: ACID) is a Taiwan-based company which by 2004 had grown to be one of the world's top five branded PC vendors. It owns the second largest computer retail chain in Taiwan, Acerland, second only to Asus. Acer's product offering includes desktop and mobile PCs (laptops), servers and storage, displays, peripherals, and e-business solutions for business, government, education, and home users.

Multitech, which was founded by Stan Shih (施振榮) and other six people in 1976, was renamed Acer in 1987. The global headquarters is in Hsichih City, Taipei County, Taiwan. In 2002, the pan Acer Group employed 39,000 people supporting dealers and distributors in more than 100 countries. Revenues reached US $12.9 billion that year. In 2000, Acer spun-off its manufacturing operation (as Wistron Corporation) to focus itself on branding business. In deciding to support the sales of its product lines through specific marketing activities that best utilise distribution channels, Acer grew worldwide while its labour force contracted. By 2005, Acer employed 7,800 people throughout the world while maintaining a global sales and service network. Revenues were US$4.9 billion in 2003[1] and US$7 billion in 2004. Acer's North American market share has slipped over the past few years while the European market share has gone up. Much of their success in Europe can be attributed to their ongoing association with the Ferrari Formula 1 Team and the former F1 team, Prost Grand Prix in 2001. They have recently broadened the scope of their relationship with Ferrari by announcing they will sponsor the Formula One team until 2008.