| Thu 25 Apr 2002, 0:00 | | Datatec's Westcon Group Subsidiary Expands Its Eur |
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Datatec Ltd
NEWS RELEASE
25 April 2002
Datatec's Westcon Group subsidiary expands its European presence
Datatec Ltd (JSE: DTC), the international networking and IT services group,
reported today that its networking distribution subsidiary, Westcon Group
Inc., has reached an agreement that will see it expand its European
operations by assuming the employees, fixed assets, supplier contracts and
customer lists of Business Partners, the networking distribution division of
Dutch-based Landis Group NV.
Over 500 Landis staff, located in nine European countries, will become
employees of Westcon and the fixed assets, supplier contracts and customer
lists will be assumed for a value not expected to exceed Euro 7-million. No
liabilities or debts will be assumed.
Datatec has previously been in negotiations with Landis for all the assets
and liabilities of Business Partners but the transaction was not concluded.
The Landis distribution business is one of the largest in continental Europe
with revenues of about $400-million last year. Landis has operations in the
Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Spain and
Austria. It distributes products from major vendors such as Sun Microsystems
(NASDAQ: SUNW), Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT), 3 Com (NASDAQ: COMS), Avaya
Communications (NYSE: AV), Network Associates (NYSE: NET), Veritas Software
Corp. (NASDAQ: VRTS) and Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL). Landis is listed on the
Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
Datatec Chief Executive Officer, Jens Montanana says European expansion
through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions remains a key goal
for Westcon. "This transaction will make the Westcon Group one of Europe's
largest voice and data networking distributors, adding to its established
offices in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany," he says.
Says Montanana: "We believe that Westcon's proven expertise in networking
distribution around the world, combined with the existing Business Partner
businesses of Landis, will significantly extend our existing business in
Europe and build a solid and highly competitive European networking
operation for Westcon."
Says Alan Marc Smith, president and CEO of Westcon: "We are excited to see
this transaction finally come to fruition. It is clear that this is a
strategic fit, both geographically and technologically.
"In the networking and telecommunications distribution arena, we are
currently one of the leaders in North America, South America and the Asia-
Pacific region. Upon completion of this transaction, our enhanced market
position in Europe will increase our profile and broaden our product
portfolio, including the extension of our relationship with Cisco Systems
(CSCO) into some of these new markets. This will allow us to provide more
comprehensive solutions to our customers with the objective of making them
more competitive," says Smith.
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For more information, please visit our website on www.datatec.co.za or
contact:
David Pfaff Trevor Jones
Datatec DiagonalStreet Communications
+ 27 11 233 3307/1221 + 27 11 880 2271
davidpf@datatec.co.za + 27 83 326 7698
trevor@diagonalstreet.com
Jeff Touzeau Jenny Pappas
Westcon Group, Inc Westcon Group, Inc.
(914) 829-7388 (914) 829-7196
jtouzeau@westcongroup.com jpappas@westcongroup.com
About Datatec
Datatec is an international networking and IT services company with
operations in many of the world's leading economies. The Group provides
active management support in the strategic direction and operation of its
subsidiaries and has three international networking focused lines of
business:
Westcon is a global channel provider of advanced networking and Internet
access products;
Logical is focused on the provision of professional services and IT network
integration; and
Mason is a strategic telecommunications consultancy.
By operating in the different stages of the networking supply chain, through
these individually branded businesses, the Group believes it can leverage
its industry and technology position, deal more effectively with vendors,
focus its management and harness its skills base as a sector specialist.
In addition, the group has a number of other operations in South Africa with
similar focused business areas. These are Westcon AME, Affinity Logic and
RangeGate.
The Group operates on six continents and generates more than 95% of its
revenue and profits outside South Africa.
About Westcon
Westcon Group, Inc., is a global channel provider of networking technology.
Through its divisions, Westcon, Comstor and Voda One, the company offers
products and services for convergence technology, remote access, Internet
and e-business, virtual private networks, videoconferencing, wireless
connectivity and network security.
Visit us at www.westcongroup.com.
Ends
