The news follows hard on the heels of the company’s announcement earlier this month that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Benelux mobility specialist, Mobile Communication Company (MCC) subject to approval of the EU regulatory authorities. It is a further illustration of Brightstar Europe’s growth strategy to acquire businesses in areas of the continent where it can strengthen its geographic presence, vendor portfolio and customer reach.
Rod Millar, president of Brightstar Europe, stated: “The completion of our acquisition of AKL means that Brightstar Europe is now offering a broad choice of converged mobile data and voice solutions and outstanding services to customers in 13 European countries. Our expansion strategy is delivering positive results by leveraging the strengths and resources of our pan-European organisation and the local knowledge and relationships of our country operations to deliver a unique value proposition for all our customers and vendors.”
All Brightstar Europe operations benefit from a significant centralised back office IT infrastructure and superior logistics resources, as well as from the strong capital structures of both Brightstar Corp. and Tech Data Corporation.
Under the agreement with AKL, which was first announced in May, Brightstar Europe has purchased 100% of the shareholding of the Austrian company through Tech Data Österreich GmbH. AKL, one of the country’s major suppliers of mobile telephony devices and fixed network telephony solutions to telecommunications dealers and consumer electronics stores, has a portfolio of major vendors that includes Nokia, Samsung and Orange. AKL will continue to operate as a separate entity from its offices and warehouse in Vienna.