4Front buys Siemens' service unit

Distributor increases focus on services with #2.5 million acquisition of French company I-NEA.

Acquisitive distributor and maintenance services firm 4Front Groupuisition of French company I-NEA. has gone on another French shopping spree, announcing it will buy I-NEA, the on-site services unit of Siemens France, for #2.5 million.

According to Terry Burt, chief operating officer of 4Front, the company's third Continental acquisition this year will position it as one of the top three maintenance providers in Europe.

Burt said the acquisition would increase the proportion of 4Front's business coming through services to 70 per cent, with the remaining 30 per cent coming from distribution. 'We aim to keep the focus up on services because increasingly the opportunities are there rather than in product,' he said.

He added that buying I-NEA meant 45 per cent of 4Front's sales were to the Continent: 'We now have bases in the UK, France, Belgium and Italy and want to push this forward, both aggressively and organically.' Of the company's 1,200 staff, 500 are now based on the Continent.

This year, 4Front has bought two French networking and maintenance companies, Paris-based Decision Systems International and Eurosystems, a company with offices in France and Belgium.

The company also bought the Italian arm of Memorex Telex and UK training firm Penagen (PC Dealer, 18 November). Last year, it bought the loss-making hardware maintenance company Firstpoint, which has now been absorbed into the company.

Burt said 4Front plans to make acquisitions in Spain, Holland and Germany.

4Front, founded in 1996, hit $250 million turnover at its last year end in January. The company will finance acquisitions from its recent flotations on Nasdaq, Easdaq and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.