Ingram Micro Inc. Acquiring British Distribution Firm : Growth: Winprime Group and its distribution subsidiary, Software Limited, will be acquired by the Santa Ana firm to increase its presence in Europe.
Ingram Micro Inc., a computer distributor with more than $1.45 billion in annual sales, said Tuesday that it is acquiring a British distribution company for an undisclosed sum.
Ingram Micro will acquire Winprime Group and its distribution subsidiary, Software Limited, as part of a move to increase its presence in Europe, said Chip Lacy, chairman and chief executive of Ingram Micro of Santa Ana.
Ingram Micro will invest about $10.6 million in the new division, which will be renamed Ingram Micro (U.K.), to increase the range of franchises, products and services offered to computer dealers in the United Kingdom. Ingram officials said all of the Winprime employees will be retained.
The acquisition, together with Ingram Micro’s existing Belgian subsidiary, will give Ingram Micro a presence in five European countries: France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. Lacy said last fall that he hopes to increase Ingram Micro’s international sales from 10% of sales to 33% by 1994.
“The United Kingdom is the largest microcomputer market in Europe and is of vital importance to us,” Lacy said. “Our intention is to ensure that Ingram Micro (U.K.) is the dominant full-assortment distributor in the United Kingdom within three years.”
Ingram Micro distributes a wide assortment of personal computers, software and computer accessories to computer retailers throughout the world.
Software Limited, founded in 1982 as a distributor of personal computers, reported sales of about $61 million in 1990. In 1988, Software Limited acquired Norbain Micro, a computer hardware distributor.
In November, Ingram Micro announced that it was buying 33% of an Australian computer distributor, Imagineering Technology Ltd. of Sydney, Australia, for a total investment of $11.8 million. But the deal was canceled in January when Ingram Micro expressed second thoughts on its offer after completing its review of the Australian firm’s assets.
