Distie Fayrewood is selling UMD, part of its Niche Distribution division, to Italian firm Esprinet for €79m.

Fayrewood gets €53.5m in cash plus a €3m divi, which has already been paid. Esprinet is also taking on debts of €25.5m.

The board decided the difficulty of finding an acquisition in order to create a pan-European distie, and its market rating, made it unlikely that it could fund takeovers with shares. Fayrewood also blamed margin pressure from "specialist and large multi-nationals" for the decision to sell.

Looking forward, the board will focus on improving profitability in Interface Solutions and Banque Magnetique in France and "maximising value in its investment in Computerlinks AG".

Fayrewood is holding an extraordinary general meeting on 6 November to vote on the sale, which is unanimously supported by the board.

See the whole statement here. ®