After receiving approval from the European anti-trust authorities, Getronics today announced that it has finalised the previously announced transaction in which the Company is merging its distribution subsidiary Datelcom with Hagemeyer’s Codis activities. The joint venture will operate under the name Pluz.
With an annual revenue of circa Euro 450 million and 225 employees, Pluz becomes the market leader in the Netherlands in the distribution of hardware to Value Added Resellers and System Integrators.
In the current ICT market, size and scale are essential. With the new joint venture, Getronics through Datelcom, and Hagemeyer through Codis, will bundle their distribution activities of leading hardware and software brands together with extensive service offerings.
The joint venture will be aimed primarily at the Dutch market where Pluz already has a strong presence. The combination of the activities of both parties will form a synergy of benefits from logistics and business experience. To fund further growth, Pluz will consider going to the capital markets.
With the finalisation of this transaction, the intention of which was first announced in a press release on 13 December 2000, the divestiture programme of Getronics is now complete. The divestiture programme was a result of the Wang Global acquisition in June 1999 and aimed to dispose of Getronics’ distribution and non-core activities for a total of Euro 970 million in revenue.
