Arrow ECS buys Sphinx

Local McAfee and Juniper distributor agrees to sell up

Sphinx chief executive Mark Hatton

Global distribution giant Arrow ECS has made good on its pledge to grow its UK security business by snapping up Sphinx.

Sphinx is one of the few sizeable independent UK VADs left standing, with 100 staff and 2009 revenue of about $82.5m (£55.7m).

The Nottingham-based firm has more than 20 security and networking franchises, including McAfee, Juniper, Trend Micro and Alcatel-Lucent, and claims to work with more than 1,000 resellers.

US-based Arrow ECS recently indicated it would look to aggressively grow its UK security business this year, adding to its core strengths in storage and virtualisation. The firm also said it was back on the lookout for acquisitions in EMEA following a spell on the sidelines.

Andy Bryant, president of Arrow ECS, said: “This acquisition builds on our strategy to increase security and networking capabilities and expands our presence in Europe.”

As recently as September, Sphinx managing director Mark Hatton asserted that Sphinx was on the acquisition path itself.