Raab Karcher?s Wyley ways aid international expansion

German distributor Raab Karcher has spent $810 million on US rival Wyle Electronics, in a move to expand its international operation.

The price represents a 40 per cent premium on Wyle?s market capitalisation and the move poses a threat to $5.6 billion electronics distribution leader Arrow Electronics. The acquisition is the biggest in Raab Karcher?s history, according to CEO Georg Kulenkampff.

Wyle, which specialises in semiconductor, peripheral, terminal and storage distribution, acquired businesses in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden and the UK with its takeover of The Ginsbury Group in January 1996. As Wyle Ginsbury, it acquired UK semiconductor programming business Welwyn Technologies six weeks ago.

Wyle made $74 million profit and turned over $1.2 billion in 1996. Raab and Wyle?s combined electronics and computer businesses will not lay off staff, will operate independently and will boast total sales of about $3 billion.

Raab Karcher, which reported a turnover of $7 billion in 1996, is the parent company of EBV Electronics, Memec, Insight and Raab Karcher Electronic Systems. The distributor completed a restructure to maintain profitability last year, when it shed businesses with turnover of around $7 billion. It is part of Germany?s fourth largest company, industrial conglomerate Veba Group, which had sales of about $50 billion in 1996.