BREAKING: Westcoast creates €5.5bn powerhouse as it merges with German KOMSA

Westcoast will take over the shares from KOMSA's founders as part of deal

Westcoast has merged with German counterpart KOMSA, creating a €5.5bn-revenue behemoth.

The Reading-based broadline distributor said the move would hand it access to the German market and boost its prowess in the unified comms market.

In the course of the merger, which is being billed as a "strategic partnership", Westcoast will take over the shares from KOMSA's founders.

KOMSA chairwoman Kerstin Grosse dubbed it "the biggest step in the company's history".

Westcoast, which is the UK's largest distributor by CRN's estimates, already operates in France and Ireland but currently has no significant presence in Europe's largest IT market, Germany. It has in the past attempted to boost its European coverage through the European Wholesale Group, an alliance with several other distributors that was disbanded in 2008.

The merger creates an outfit with revenues of more than €5.5bn, 2,200 employees and which brings together more than 400 technology partners with 30,000 retail partners.

KOMSA CEO and CFO Pierre-Pascal Urbon cited the convergence of IT and telecoms infrastructure as the main driver for the deal, which the duo claims creates "Europe's largest family-owned ICT sales alliance".

"By merging with Westcoast, we are able to enrich our sector expertise in telecommunications with IT. This is of high strategic value to us, as it allows us to offer our customers a unique range of services and pass onto them the efficiencies generated by the merger" he said.

"We will bring our know-how from the highly competitive IT market to the world of telecommunications, which will improve the customer experience and range of available services. With access to the German growth market, where we have not been significantly active to date, we are also strategically expanding our market position," added Joe Hemani, chairman and founder of Westcoast.

According to CRN's Top Distributors, Westcoast extended its lead as the UK's largest distributor in its latest year. Westcoast Holdings Ltd's total revenues hit £3.65bn in 2021. Some £2.95bn of that was UK distribution revenues, the firm told us, with the remaining £700m accounted for by around £515m of overseas (ie Irish, French and European fulfilment) distribution business and £180m of revenues from reseller arm XMA (which was divested on 30 April 2021).

For its part, KOMSA Group claims to be the largest sales, marketing and service partner for global telecommunications brands in Germany.