MBO directs CD firm into e-commerce

CD Direct has undergone a management buyout from its parent company, DeAgostini Group, changing its name to Netcommerce.

The company sells CD-Roms ? up to 3,000 software titles ? via its Web site, allowing consumers to order products online.

Jeremy Pocock, CD Direct MD, and incoming commercial and marketing director Dermot Hill have financed the buyout. Pocock will run the company in his new capacity as operations director.

Hill has previously worked for Olivetti, Westek, and most recently as a marketing consultant. Talking to PC Dealer, Hill said the management buyout would allow the company to make its decisions quicker without having to go to its parent firm.

CD Direct has been trading in CDs since 1993 and was bought by DeAgostini in 1994. It moved on to the internet in 1995 and had a turnover last year of #300,000.

The change of name to Netcommerce reflects the Cd Direct?s desire to move away from purely CD-Rom-based business into broader-based e-commerce under the name of Shopsdirect. This will be funded by venture capital.

The MBO team is looking for initial injection of #1 million to set up Shopsdirect.