VAD Exclusive Group Buying Fine Tec, Entering U.S. Market

**Editor’s Note: Please click here for a recap of the biggest channel-impacting merger and acquisition news from April.**

Exclusive Group, the value-added security distributor, is expanding globally with the acquisition of San Jose, California-based Fine Tec.

Exclusive Group is headquartered in Paris and up until now has been partnering with systems integrators, resellers and VARs in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Exclusive Group’s Barrie Desmond

Barrie Desmond, chief operating officer of Exclusive Group, tells Channel Partners that his company had grown organically to revenues of $1.6 billion at the close of last year and was hearing multiple requests from vendor partners to move into the U.S.

“Now we’re here in the U.S., and we’ve found a like-minded company with … Fine Tec, we hope to continue that model, where we don’t just offer a different type of service [from] the other guys — where we really act as a proxy for the VARs, the reselllers and the system integrators,” Desmond said.

He and Fine Tec CEO James Shen say their companies both take the approach of a value-added distributor, but one of the big differentiators for Fine Tec is its North American footprint, in both “resources and relationships.” Desmond says his company’s partners will be less limited by geography as a result of the acquisition.

Fine Tec’s James Shen

“VARs that may not have addressed that opportunity themselves can now expand their addressable market and say to Fine Tec, ‘I have a customer that has 14 sites in Europe or Africa or Asia. Can you help me?’ The answer today now is yes,” he said.

The companies made the announcement Thursday, adding that Fine Tec is worth $230 million. Shen says his organization now has a chance to capitalize on its international ambitions.

“This is great news for everyone connected with Fine Tec family as it validates the approach we’ve taken to value-added distribution in the US for nearly 20 years,” he said. “The Exclusive Group story is well known and we’ve admired it from afar, but now with the Group’s global reach and resources it opens up many new opportunities for our partners.