Exertis Announces Intention to Acquire COMM-TEC GmbH

Gerry O’Keeffe, Exertis International managing director says of the acquisition: “Pro Audio-Visual is a strategic priority for Exertis, growing from an already strong position in the UK&I, Nordics and France, along with recent market leading acquisitions in North America; COMM-TEC is a key investment in our continuing growth story. COMM-TEC provides Exertis’ customers and vendors with a first-class European platform and together with Exertis’ Supply Chain Solutions business gives us global reach in this important and growing category.”

“COMM-TEC is a specialist in providing value-added Pro AV solutions with an emphasis on pre and post sales technical support for its customers. It has an excellent reputation in the markets in which it operates. In addition to increasing our presence in Continental Europe, this acquisition provides great synergy opportunities with our Exertis Pro AV Solutions divisions in other countries. The acquisition will provide our customers with increased range of products and services and aligns Exertis with our vendor partners who are increasingly looking for companies that can support them in realising their international Pro AV and IT ambitions.”

COMM-TEC provides a range of Pro AV solutions that encompass: presentation hardware; digital signage and media solutions; signal management, conference and control; and racks and mounts. The company has relationships with a wide range of vendors including Barco, Brightsign, Chief, Gefen, Middle Atlantic, Newline and QSC. COMM-TEC’s experienced management team will remain after the completion of the acquisition reporting to Eric Bousquet, managing director, Exertis commercial Western Europe.

Rainer Sprinzl, COMM-TEC, managing director, said, “This is a great opportunity for our business and our employees to be part of an organisation that has clearly demonstrated its desire to grow both organically and through acquisition. Equally, it has great benefits for our customers and vendors with the potential to extend our product portfolio and service offerings to meet the increasingly collaborative requirements of end users in today’s workplace.”

Wolfgang Lenz, COMM-TEC, founder and managing director, said “During more than three decades, we have built a great business at COMM-TEC which is testament to all the team’s hard work and dedication. This next step in our journey presents an excellent opportunity to develop our business further and take advantage of the synergies available in being part of the Exertis group.”

¹Exertis is the principal trading name of DCC Technology.
²The acquisition is subject to approval from the relevant competition authorities which is expected to be
received by June/July, during which time both companies will continue to operate separately.

About DCC plc

DCC is a leading international sales, marketing and support services group with a clear focus on performance and growth. It operates through four divisions: LPG, Retail & Oil, Healthcare and Technology.

DCC is an ambitious and entrepreneurial business operating in 17 countries, supplying products and services used by millions of people every day throughout Europe, North America and Asia. Building strong routes to market, driving for results, focusing on cash conversion and generating superior sustainable returns on capital employed enable the Group to reinvest in its business, creating value for its stakeholders. Headquartered in Dublin, employing approximately 12,500 people.

DCC’s four divisions are:

• DCC LPG – a leading LPG sales and marketing business with operations in Europe, the US and Asia and a developing business in the retailing of natural gas and electricity;
• DCC Retail & Oil – a leader in the sales, marketing and retailing of transport fuels and commercial fuels, heating oils and related products and services in Europe;
• DCC Technology – is a leading route-to-market and supply chain partner for global technology brands and customers; and
• DCC Healthcare – a leading healthcare business, providing products and services to healthcare providers and health and beauty brand owners.

DCC plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100. In its financial year ended 31 March 2019, DCC generated revenue of £15.2 billion and operating profit of £460 million.

DCC has an excellent record, delivering compound annual growth of 14% in operating profit and generating an average return on capital employed of approximately 19% over 25 years as a public company.

About Exertis

Exertis is the leading technology distributor of consumer, business and enterprise products from established and emerging technology brands, and a wholly owned subsidiary of parent company DCC PLC, a FTSE 100 company. After 37 years of profitability Exertis continues to outperform the market, achieving revenues of £3.631billion in FY2019.