News

Westcon Group to Acquire Crane, UK-Based Distributor of Voice, Data and Converged Communications Sol

Slough, England, April 11, 2007--Westcon Group, Inc, a multi-national distributor of networking, security, mobility and convergence solutions, announced that its parent company, Datatec Limited, has signed an agreement on behalf of Westcon to acquire Crane Telecommunications Group Limited, a leading value added distributor for voice, data and converged communications solutions in the UK and Ireland, The Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Through this acquisition, Westcon Group will add considerable strength to its European convergence practice by enhancing its relationships with Avaya, Nortel, Alcatel and Mitel, while gaining new vendor relationships with companies including Samsung and BT Network Services. Crane is well known for its consultative approach and excellence in training. Its customer base includes over 250 resellers focused on convergence and mobility.

Westcon’s intent to acquire Crane directly follows an earlier announcement in March of its intent to acquire NOXS, the leading European security distributor. Following these acquisitions, Westcon plans to leverage its financial strength and scale of operations in Europe to bring new opportunities in convergence, security and mobility to both new and existing customers, while broadening and strengthening its European vendor relationships.

Barry Shakespeare, executive vice president of Westcon Europe, commented: “When evaluating a company for a potential acquisition, two of the key considerations are the company’s management philosophy and their customer orientation. Crane has developed an incredibly loyal customer base built squarely on relationships. This approach is very much like our own in both the solutions approach and technology focus.”

David George, executive chairman of Crane Group, added: “Westcon Group and Crane share a heritage in delivering converged voice and data solutions for well over a decade. This acquisition enables our customers to increase their success by leveraging Westcon’s complementary technologies and programme infrastructure. We look forward to developing and expanding mutual opportunities once the acquisition closes.”

"By acquiring Crane, Westcon Group increases its ability to deliver the most effective convergence solutions to the market," said Dave Johnson, senior vice president, global channels development and alliances, Avaya. "With broader coverage and the combined strength of these two leaders, customers will benefit from a targeted vendor portfolio, which feature solutions and programs such as VoicePoint and ConvergencePoint. Once the acquisition is complete, Avaya will continue to support the new, combined organization delivering intelligent communications solutions that help customers transform their businesses with Avaya's market leading products and services."

About Westcon Group
Westcon Group, Inc. is a multi-national specialty distributor of networking, security and communications equipment for leading technology vendors, including Cisco Systems, Inc., Nortel Networks Corporation and Avaya, Inc.  Through its Westcon and Comstor divisions, Westcon Group sells products and services to resellers, systems integrators and service providers. Westcon Group has particular expertise in the convergence of voice, data and video applications and technologies, including voice-over Internet protocol, or VoIP, security for networking and communications systems, remote access, Internet and e-business, virtual private networks, videoconferencing and wireless connectivity. For more information, visit www.westcongroup.com.



Contact:    
James Clark
Westcon Group, Inc.
+44 1285 627 140
jclark@westcongroup.com

Jeffrey Touzeau                
Westcon Group, Inc.            
(914) 829-7388            
jtouzeau@westcongroup.com