CHS Electronics Continues Its Spree of Acquisitions

CHS Electronics Inc., the top distributor of personal computers in Europe and Latin America, agreed on Tuesday to buy Metro’s Vobis computer business for $670 million in cash and debt, in a bid to further its dominance of the European market.

Miami-based CHS will pay about $320 million in cash and stock to buy Vobis and its Maxdata and Peacock computer wholesaling units. It will assume about $350 million of debt. The move will give CHS 820 outlets in Europe, 340 in Germany alone.

The purchase is the largest in a spree of acquisitions for CHS, which last month got the green light from European antitrust regulators to buy Metrologie International, another European distributor. CHS began its push into Asia and the Middle East in May by buying controlling stakes in three computer, hardware and software companies for as much as $30 million in stock and cash.

“They are getting bigger and they’re No. 1 in terms of volume in Germany,” said analyst Kristi Thiese at Raymond James. “But there’s still room for them to grow further and for others to consolidate the European market.”

CHS said the proposed acquisition, which it expects to close in two to four months, moves it even further ahead of its competitors--Ingram Micro Inc. and Tech Data Corp.--in Europe.

The company said it expects the purchase to add 10 cents a share to fiscal 1999 earnings.

CHS shares rose 50 cents to close at $18.88 in trading on Nasdaq. The shares have gained 10% in the last 12 months.