InTechnology storage pair to storm Europe

Storage distributors Storm and VData are to merge as part of a bid to become a dominant force in the European storage market.

Storage distributors Storm and VData are to merge as part of a bid to become a dominant force in the European storage market.

The merger follows internet investment firm InTechnology's acquisition of the companies for £165m.

VData, which has 41 employees, posted a pre-tax loss of £1.6m on turnover of £28,000 for the year ending 31 December. Storm, with 116 employees, recorded pre-tax profit of £5.4m on turnover of £102m for the year ending 31 March. InTechnology will also try to raise £33m to finance a European expansion.

Storm sales director Bryn Sage said the two companies, which already share a sales office and have headquarters in Harrogate, will become separate divisions of InTechnology. Both firms will keep their brands because "they play in different markets". Sage also ruled out any redundancies or office closures, saying a recruitment drive is on the cards.

The management team of VData and Storm will remain in place and become executive directors of the new company, ensuring the firms do not change focus, said Sage. "There will be no impact on resellers at all. Our finance director understands the channel and the core management team will remain the same."

Sage added that the merger had been motivated by the need to be "recognised as a large, credible organisation. We think both companies are in the vanguard of the storage arena and we want to remain in the forefront".

Peter Wilkinson, former managing director of both distributors and chief executive of InTechnology, claimed the global demand for data storage has increased by 80 per cent in the last two years. The merged group will aim to become "the UK's first full-service data management solutions provider", he said.

First published in Computer Reseller News