Memsolve in bid to buy Electro-Wide

Memsolve, a Widnes-based distributor, has emerged as favourite to pick up the remnants of defunct Electro-Wide which went into administration in February.

As exclusively revealed in PC Dealer (25 February), Electro-Wide plunged into administration, leaving debts of up to z3 million.

According to several sources, Memsolve, which has a turnover of z30 million and a long history of business with Electro-Wide, was rumoured to be interested in acquiring it and the Atlantic brand.

Rob Swire, operations director at Memsolve, said: 'We are always interested in such opportunities. The Atlantic name is obviously an asset, being a big brand. It was one of our first clients when we set up, so we know the directors, and such a deal will only work if mutually agreeable. It's a question of valuation, so it is up to the administrators.'

However, the relationship between the two companies goes further. Gary Stones, partner at Stones Jones, Electro-Wide's administrator, said: 'Prior to administration, Memsolve's company Hexagon IT acquired the mail order division of Electro-Wide. It is able to sell computers under the Atlantic brand by mail order only.' When asked if Memsolve had approached him to acquire further areas of Electro-Wide, he declined to comment.

Swire added that Memsolve would eventually want to tie its system building unit, Eagle Systems with the Atlantic brand, provided job losses could be avoided.

But this move could prove problematic since Memsolve's production facility is based in the northwest and Electro-Wide's is in the southwest.