Piedmont buys Olivetti PC arm

The loss-making Olivetti PC division has been sold to Piedmont International, a firm of international financiers.

The company was set up with the express purpose of owning Olivetti?s PC division and is part of the larger Centenary Group.

Piedmont will be led by US lawyer Edward Gottesman and is backed by a number of unknown investors.

The sale of Olivetti?s PC arm to an international investment ring, rather than another PC company, was predicted last year (PC Dealer, 23 October 1996), soon after the planned sale was announced.

At the time, a senior source at Olivetti described the new owners of the division as ?someone who wants to grow Olivetti PC ? not shrink it?.

But the sale is now coming under fire from some in the channel. They have described Piedmont as an asset stripper that is seeking to maximise its return rather than acting in the long- term interests of Olivetti?s PC division.