Two of France’s largest information technology distributors, Agena SA and ECS, a subsidiary of Societe Generale SA, have merged their personal computer distribution activities, reports Les Echos. If the operation is completed in September, the resulting company would boast 1,600 employees and some $750m in revenues. It would become the leading supplier of professional computer equipment in France, ahead of Ista SA, which has revenues of about $625m. The gap had widened in favour of Ista over the last few years. Agena and ECS had a problem of critical mass, said Eric Ochs, associate director of International Data Corp in Paris, told the paper. ECS will retain its activity of large system leasing, which generates $1,350m per year. In a precarious financial situation over the last two years, ECS saw a loss in 1993 of $58m and about $62.5m in 1994, and has recently been restructured by president Guy Chaine. Agena has had difficulty finding profitability despite its purchase by the Dutch paper manufacturer KNP BT in 1991, which was then taken over by Groupe Suez. Agena has revenues of some $375m or as much as ECS’s micro division. The two companies would be equal shareholders in the new company. It just remains to be seen if there is a true complementarity between the two companies and if distributors can, finally, proove that they can sell service to large accounts, Ochs commented.
