Midwich snaps up Spanish distributor as spending spree continues

Audi-visual and print specialist takes first steps into Spain and Portugal as it presses on with expansion into mainland Europe.

Audiovisual distributor Midwich has grabbed Spanish distributor Earpro - its third acquisition since going public last year.

The deal - which values the equity of Earpro at €11m (£9.5m) including a net cash balance of roughly €3.2m - will see Midwich snap up 88 per cent of the Spanish-based firm, with an option to acquire the remaining 12 per cent over the next three years.

Midwich claims that Earpro is a specialist AV and lighting distributor operating in Spain and Portugal, with a portfolio that includes key mid to high-end professional audio brands such as Shure and Harman. Earpro employs 45 people, and claims to have generated unaudited revenues of around €21m in 2016, seven per cent higher than 2015.

Stephen Fenby, managing director of Midwich, said: "The acquisition of Earpro marks Midwich's entry into the Spanish and Portuguese markets, enabling the group to trade with a broad customer base across a variety of customer segments. The addition of this territory to the group's portfolio increases Midwich's geographical coverage, with the group operating in territories which account for approximately 60 per cent of the European audio visual market. Earpro's expertise and reputation in the professional audio market represents a strong complementary fit to the Group's activities. I look forward to welcoming the Earpro team into the Midwich Group and working with them to further develop this exciting market."

Earlier this month Fenby told CRNthat Midwich had been in conversations with potential acquisition targets, expressing an eagerness to expand the distributor's European footprint, naming Poland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland as prospective new territories.

Aside from the new Iberian region added through its Earpro acquisition, Midwich has operations in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. The firm floated on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange in May, and began its life as a public company with two acquisitions in the shape of UK broadcast specialist Holdan and New Zealand-based player Wired in September.