Europe’s leading IT reseller-cum-services player, Computacenter, has made its first foray into Switzerland, acquiring control of Swiss IT service provider DAMAX AG. Computacenter had previously serviced the Swiss market through a partnering arrangement with Damax.
Computacenter is paying £5.4m (including c. £1.5m net cash) for an 80% stake in Damax, with the option to pick up the rest of the business for another £2.4m over the next 3-4 years. No financial data was provided on Damax’s performance or on how much business Computacenter currently transacts in the country, but at that price I would assume we’re talking ‘nits and lice’.
Computacenter has been on a bit of a buying spree this year, taking on French reseller Top Info (see Computacenter Tops off in France) and (significantly, in our view) German Apple SI, HSD (see Computacenter takes a bite of German services Apple). Germany is already a £1b market for Computacenter, while France is little more than a third its size.