Tech Data bulks up European business with $350 million deal

(Reuters) - Technology products distributor Tech Data Corp will buy several distribution companies from UK-based IT services provider Specialist Computer Holdings for about $350 million, adding heft to its European business.

Technology distributors typically expand their geographical reach through acquisitions, and the latest deal marks Tech Data's second acquisition in the region this year.

The company, which gets 59 percent of its sales from Europe, said the distribution firms it is acquiring are based in the UK, France and the Netherlands and specialize in data center and enterprise software products.

The firms generated third-party sales of about $1.75 billion for the year ended March 31, Tech Data said.

The deal also includes a five-year supplier agreement with Specialist Computer that Tech Data estimates will add incremental annual sales of about $500 million.

The acquisition of these companies strengthens Tech Data's enterprise business, Azlan, as well as expand its vendor and customer portfolios in Europe, the company said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close by the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013.

In July, it entered a deal to buy out Brightstar Corp's 50 percent holding in their joint venture Brightstar Europe Ltd, a distributor of mobile devices, for $165.6 million in cash [ID:nL3E8IB3IG].

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)