Those computer industry acquisitions made in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Mannesmann AG did not fare too well on the big German steel pipe maker’s watch, but with the runaway success of its cellular interests filling its need for a high-growth diversification, the Dusseldorfer does not really care too much. Having sold the Kienzle computer business to Digital Equipment Corp, which subsequently closed much of it, it has now found a buyer for its commodity printer manufacturer Tally GmbH. Tally, which is doing about $265m a year in sales, is going to Legal & Ventures Partners Ltd of London for an undisclosed sum.
