German conglomerate Viag AG is in negotiations with potential partners for a strategic alliance in the computer distribution market, the idea is to merge its Computer 2000 business with a major international player to form a ‘megadistributor’, according to a spokesperson for the group. The logic behind the move, which would involve selling a majority share in Europe’s largest and the world’s number three PC distributor to the eventual partner, is that, in the words of Viag chairman Georg Obermeier all the leading players [in distribution] are either in the US or Asia. Since he says, we can’t exclude ourselves from that trend Munich-based Viag is talking to aspiring partners with a view to strategic cooperation. There has been much speculation, in Germany itself, that the favorite to close the deal with Viag is Clearwater, Florida-based Tech Data Corp, though neither side was prepared to comment on these rumors. Tech Data is already in the German market via its acquisition in mid-1997 of Macrotron AG, the number four in Germany. The US group’s CEO, Steve Raymund, was in Germany last week for the AGM of his company’s subsidiary, which is also headquartered in Munich. At that meeting it was decided the company should be renamed Tech Data Germany GmbH & Co, and a possible takeover of Computer 2000, with a subsequent merger of the two operations, was the subject of much heated debate. The Viag group, which also has holdings in energy, chemicals, packaging and telecoms, entered the IT distribution business with Computer 2000 in 1994. While enjoying market leadership in Europe, its ill-fated venture into the US, AmeriQuest Technologies, brought two years of losses to the company, a situation it remedied by downsizing in the 1997/98 fiscal year, for which it is predicting a very healthy result. Tech Data reported sales of $7.1bn worldwide last year, 20% of them from outside the US. Computer 2000, meanwhile, had a revenues of some $4.3bn (DM8bn).
