InterX gives IT Network £20m boost

InterX, the parent of IT distributor Ideal Hardware, will invest a further £20m in its embryonic internet portal IT Network to extend the business to other vertical markets.

InterX, the parent of IT distributor Ideal Hardware, will invest a further £20m in its embryonic internet portal IT Network to extend the business to other vertical markets.

When InterX bought Cromwell Media last month, it said it would raise £30m through an associated placing to fund the development of the IT Network business. Today's announcement boosts its war chest to £50m, prompting speculation that it is ready to make further acquisitions.

InterX will next week outline details of a trading hub for resellers, based around the Bladerunner customer relationship management (CRM) software it gained from the Cromwell acquisition. Details of other strategies are expected later in the month.

Additionally, the company said certain directors and former directors of InterX, as well as Cromwell shareholders, will sell around 2.5 million shares "to maintain an orderly market in the company's shares". The sale will net this group around £75m.

Meanwhile, InterX said it was making progress in the separation of Ideal Hardware from the rest of the group, adding that the distribution arm was trading ahead of the company's expectations for the year so far.

InterX's shares rose 162.5p to 3262.5p by midday today following the announcement.