Buyers sought for KMS' stock and repairs biz

Administrator says it has already received expressions of interest from 40 parties

The administrator of KMS Components claims it has received interest from over 40 parties as it looks to conclude its search for buyers of the fallen tablet maker's assets.

Cardiff-based KMS imploded at the beginning of January after the loss of largest customer Argos and tablet licensing issues left it with a mountain of unsold stock.

A representative of Deloitte, which is handling the administration, confirmed that buyers are being sought for both KMS' stock and its warranty and repair centre. A deadline of Friday for initial bids has been set and Deloitte hopes to conclude the process within ten days.

"What's likely to happen is, either we have a sale of the stock only, and that's it, or, we have a sale of the warranty side of the business which also includes the stock," the representative said.

"We have had expressions of interest from 40 parties."

It is understood that KMS has over £1m worth of tablet stock, although their value to buyers is unclear given the rumoured licensing bust up with Google. It also has some components stock relating to the distribution side of its business.

"We hope to resolve the licensing issues, ideally before a sale is achieved," the representative said.

One source who had registered an interest in KMS was told that the returns ratio on KMS' tablets was 17 per cent but the administrator maintained this also is a viable business to take on.

"Once those items have been tested, in many cases no faults were found, so even though the returns percentage might be high, faulty returns are a lot lower," they said.

"We are in discussions with a number of interested parties. There is no deadline, but we are encouraging parties to submit their bids ASAP."