German chip brokerage CE Consumer Electronics AG has acquired, for an undisclosed sum, Japanese counterpart Nihon Arcom Ltd, of Tokyo, the largest semiconductor broker in that country. Munich-based CE said that Nihon is well connected to manufacturers Toshiba, NEC, Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Seiko, Oki and Hitachi, and will now take responsibility for all CE’s purchasing in the Asian region. It will also become the representative in Asia of online chip brokerage initiative Virtual Chip Exchange (VCE). CE, which has been quoted on the Neuer Markt in Frankfurt since 1997, said it expects to report revenue of around $40m this year, not including the contributions from its acquisitions. Nihon Arcom is expected to have revenue of $7m for the year.
