EWG partner GNT (FIN), the leading IT and consumer electronics wholesale distributor in Finland and the Baltic region, has signed an agreement for the acquisition of IT distributor group Santech Micro Group (SMG). The acquisition covers the SMG companies in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The combined pro forma revenue of GNT and SMG in 2005 is estimated at EUR 1.5 billion. As a result of the acquisition, GNT becomes the largest IT distributor in the Nordic region. In addition to the SMG acquisition GNT has also signed an agreement to acquire Finland’s leading music distributor Hot One Group.

“We are very pleased about GNT’s expansion move”, says Thomas C. Weissmann, President of EWG. “The SMG acquisition extends EWG’s presence in the Nordic region and brings the total number of European countries served by EWG now to 14” he continues. “On top, GNT’s acquisition of Hot One Group is well in line with EWG’s strategy to expand not only with strategic vendors and geographies, but also with new product lines”, he explains.

EWG was founded in 2002. It represents the leading vendors of IT hard- and software products and has been acknowledged first by HP as a pan-European partner. During 2004 a European wide agreement was also signed with Fujitsu-Siemens Computers. In early November 2005 EWG announced yet another strategic partnership, this time with Canon Europe. The five partner companies in the alliance – ALSO, Copaco, Esprinet, GNT and MemorySet – posted consolidated net sales of EUR 4.4 billion in 2004, making EWG the third-largest distributor in Europe. The EWG partners together employ a staff of about 2’200 and serve more than 50’000 resellers across Europe. In November 2005, Esprinet has announced that it will acquire 100% of the shares in EWG partner MemorySet.

Further information:
EWG: Thomas C. Weissmann, President of European Wholesale Group, Tel. +41 41 266 18 02

ALSO: Maya von Krannichfeldt, Head of Corporate Communications ALSO Holding AG, Tel. +41 41 266 18 02