German Firm to Acquire 51% of AmeriQuest : Computers: It will get access to U.S. market in deal officials say will boost Irvine company’s sales.
A major German computer distributor said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in AmeriQuest Technologies Inc. of Irvine in a transaction valued at about $50 million.
Computer 2000 AG of Munich said it wants the 51% interest in AmeriQuest so it can start selling computers in the United States. Both companies said the deal will be good for AmeriQuest too, because it will give the Southern California company a strong partner and an opportunity to expand.
“We believe the operating synergism generated through this alliance will immediately offer AmeriQuest greatly enhanced earnings power,” said Hal Clark, AmeriQuest’s co-chairman. “In addition, the $50-million infusion will provide us with the working capital necessary to finance rapid company expansion in 1995 and beyond.”
AmeriQuest, formerly CMS Enhancements Inc., has 175 employees in Orange County. The investment by Computer 2000 is not expected to increase local employment immediately, the company said.
The proposal is subject to approval by both companies’ shareholders.
For AmeriQuest, Computer 2000’s investment will give it a strong partner in an industry that has become “extremely price competitive” and “very difficult” for many distributors, said Robert Anastasi, computer analyst for the investment bank Robinson Humphrey Co. in Atlanta. AmeriQuest will probably gain a few new computer lines that are offered by Computer 2000, he said, while Computer 2000 will get a “fast, relatively inexpensive . . . and reasonably broad entry into America.”
AmeriQuest reported a loss of $7.9 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, contrasted with a profit of $236,000 for the previous year. Annual sales were $87.6 million, a 20% increase.
The company said at the time that it expects to exceed $1 billion in annual sales by 1996.
In Monday’s trading on the New York Stock Exchange, AmeriQuest closed at $3.50 a share, down 12.5 cents.
