Tricom Group Ltd has acquired modem and multiplexer manufacturer Micom-Borer Ltd for UKP7m, with all the cash coming from additional venture capital investment – Schroder Ventures went in for UKP2m, the Midland Bank another UKP5m. High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire based Tricom made the acquisition in an attempt to benefit from Micom’s business with value added resellers and OEM customers, and add local area networking to its own personal computer networking products; there is little overlap between the two companies’ product lines. Micom-Borer, formerly the UK end of Micom Systems Inc, the Chatsworth, California company that has forsaken the Steady State approach to business for a Big Bang since it was acquired by an investment group, will be renamed Tricom-Borer, and operate as a independent unit within the Tricom Group. Reading, Berkshire-based Micom-Borer reported a UKP12.5m turnover last year, and Tricom says that the acquisition will make it the third largest data communications equipment company in the UK, with a turnover of UKP40m. Tricom, which bought wide area networking and backbone switching systems company Atlantic Network Systems Plc in September, is now looking for organic growth in the UK, and partnerships to increase its presence in continental Europe.
