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11 Jun 2010
Audiovisual (AV) distributor Midwich is in expansion mode after completing its first mainland European acquisition.
The firm this week acquired the trade and certain assets of French AV distributor Sidev for an undisclosed sum.
Sidev, with offices in Lyon and Paris, had been in the French equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the French legal system, but still achieved sales of €9m (£7.4m) in 2009.
Further reading
Stephen Fenby, finance director of Midwich, said the firm has had difficulties and was bought out of administration, but its potential in France was huge.
“The French AV market is one of the top three in Europe, but is quite fragmented in terms of distribution,” he said. “Sidev has had a tough time and was certainly influenced by the withdrawal of credit, but it has a strong team and its manager is well regarded. We aim to help the business get back to basics, get stock levels back up again and re-engage with the customers.”
Fenby added that Midwich intends to keep the Sidev name and its 16 staff, and will eventually look at growing the team. Fenby said Midwich is interested in widening its European reach, but is not rushing into further acquisitions.
Martine Dodwell-Bennett, group sales director at rival distributor
Steljes,
said:
“There is lots of AV spending going on in France. Steljes is looking at European
expansion and we have looked at several markets, including France.”
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