DCC buys office supplies company

DCC has bought a British-based distributor of electronic office supplies in a deal which could cost up to €17.5m. The company is to pay an upfront charge of €11.9m in cash for 100% of Advent Data.

Further payments depending on results delivered over the next three years could push the cost up to a maximum of €17.5m, the group said in a statement.

Advent distributes products such as inkjet and laser print cartridges to office supplies and stationery companies, internet retailers and general IT retailers.

DCC said the deal complements its subsidiary SerCom’s business in Britain. Advent made an operating profit of €4.5m on sales of €150m in the year to the end of August 2010 while the business accounts for 111 jobs.

DCC chief executive Tommy Breen said that “Advent is highly complementary to DCC SerCom’s Reseller distribution business in the UK in terms of product range and customer base”.

He said the acquisition will significantly strengthen DCC’s market position in the electronic office supplies market. Advent distributes products from Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, Konica Minolta, Lexmark and Samsung.

It trades with over 1,000 customers each year including office supplies and stationery companies, internet retailers and general IT resellers.