DCC, the industrial holding company, has increased its shareholding in Sharptext and Runsole, the Irish and British computer distribution companies, to 92.4 per cent.
The consideration for the extra 7.5 per cent amounts to £3.38 million and was paid to nine managers in the two companies.
It is made up of 390,514 ordinary DCC shares, a loan note of £757,249 and £1.06 million in cash. This values Sharptext (it owns the Sharptext Irish operations) and Runsole (it owns Micro P and Gem Distribution, in Britain) at £45 million.
Prior to the acquisitions, the nine executives of the computer companies exercised share options which reduced DCC's effective shareholding from 89.1 per cent to 84.9 per cent.
The price of the options has not been disclosed but Mr Tommy Breen, managing director, DCC SerCom, conceded the consideration paid represented a "substantial" profit for the executives.
There are further put and call options, exercisable in 1998, over the remaining 7.6 per cent of the issued share capital of Sharptext and Runsole held by the executives.
In addition, put and call options are held by the management and DCC, exercisable in 2000, over shares which may be issued to management, arising from the exercise by them of share options over an effective 4.7 per cent.
Micro P is a distributor of computer hardware products in Britain, Gem Distribution sells computer software to the British consumer market, while Sharptext distributes computer products in Ireland.
They generate annual sales of £160 million, with Sharptext accounting for 15 per cent. No profit figures have been disclosed but Mr Breen said profit growth has been "very significant" over the past five to six years.
