Distribution duo fight over Ascend

Networking vendor Ascend has found itself in the middle of another potential clash between Azlan and Persona.

The two distributors are rumoured to be competing for the affections of the vendor, which arrived in the UK last year.

Phil Holcroft, Ascend UK country manager, said: 'We are looking to expand our two-tier distribution side and have been talking to Azlan, Persona and a number of other partners.

'We want to go into the next calendar year with more partnerships. As a company, we may wish to strike an agreement on a pan-European basis.

Persona and Azlan are the two biggest players.'

European expansion plans of the rival distributors came to a head last week when Azlan managed to acquire a Dutch presence ahead of Persona (PC Dealer, 27 November).

Azlan managed to take the lead with the acquisition of Rotterdam-based Akam International Holding.

But negotiations by Persona to acquire Dutch distributor Landis, which also has operations in Belgium and Germany, fell through.

Adrian Botteril, Azlan group product marketing manager, confirmed the company was talking to Ascend, but refused to comment whether any agreements had been reached.

'It would be premature to say that the two companies are in discussion,' he said.