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Recently released from the protective arm of VEBA Electronics LLC, the Memec group has no plans to reflect on its new-found freedom.
With an action plan at the ready, the specialty distributor is poised to expand in Japan and Eastern Europe and is pressing forward with an initial public offering as soon as market conditions favor the move, according to David Ashworth, president and chief executive of the London-based company.
At its core, Memec is essentially unchanged from its days as a VEBA subsidiary, even as it adjusts to life under British equity firm Schroder Ventures. "As far as operating processes go, nothing has changed," Ashworth said. "With the exception of a new parent company and a few name changes within Atlas Services, everything is the same." (See related story on page 73.)
That shouldn't suggest a static position in the market, however. Arrow Electronics Inc. and Avnet Inc. each joined Schroder in dividing up VEBA AG's $2.35 billion...