Reseller 2e2 is paying £52.9m for all the shares of UK reseller and hire company Compel.

Compel shareholders will get 149.3 pence per share. This price represents a 14 per cent premium on yesterday's close or a 59.5 per cent premium on its average closing price over the last year. The Compel board unanimously recommends the offer.

Compel has 400 staff and ten UK offices. It has two main businesses - an enterprise division and Hamilton Rentals, which hires out kit. Its last accounts showed turnover of £45m and pre-tax profits of £1.71m for the six months ended 31 December 2006.

Six Compel directors own 8.64 per cent of Compel shares and have signed irrevocable undertakings to sell them to 2e2.

David Frankling and David Curby, COO and executive director at Compel, will get senior management positions in the new group. Chief executive Neville Davis will leave the company and the board when the deal goes through. Compel's non executive directors are also resigning.

2e2 assured employees of Compel that all staff rights, including pensions, would be safeguarded but there will be some redundancies.

More on 2e2 here. ®

Related stories

• 2e2 rolls up Netstore for UK channel glory (12 August 2008)
• Hamilton Rentals regains independence (16 July 2008)
• Channel rumours round-up (19 March 2007)
• Compel interims strong (28 February 2007)
• Compel appoints managing director (3 January 2007)
• Compel on track for the year (7 November 2006)
• Compel takes solutions to new heights (19 September 2006)
• Board change at Compel (10 August 2006)
• Compel prelim revenues unchanged (23 February 2006)
• Compel buys Peoplesoft house (13 January 2006)
• Compel to tell AGM it's on track (1 November 2005)