Hammer owner Nexora has made good on its quest to find a buyer before the end of 2026, with One Equity Partners stepping in to acquire the distie for $725m.
FTSE-listed parent DCC Energy put Nexora up for sale after completing the disposal of its lower-margin, £2bn-revenue Exertis IT business to AURELIUS last November.
According to an announcement this morning, it has now reached an agreement to sell Nexora to One Equity Partners, a North American private equity firm that counts UK VAR Trustmarque-Ultima among its current investments.
Comprising DCC Technology’s so-called ‘Pro Tech’ businesses, including its Almo and JAM pro-AV brands in North America, as well as its Hammer and Captech infrastructure brands in Europe, the Nexora brand was only christened last December.
Together, these businesses turn over around £2.5bn and employ 2,000 staff.
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen in May, Nexora CEO Clive Fitzharris claimed Nexora’s margins are “double” those typically seen in IT distribution, as he stressed it was seeing “good appetite” among suitors in its sale process.
The transaction, which is for an enterprise value of $725m, “recognises the quality of the business that the Nexora team has built”, DCC Energy CEO Donal Murphy said.
What’s next for Nexora?
One Equity’s backing will help Nexora “strengthen its footprint and capabilities”, Nexora claimed in a statement, adding that it will “maintain its strategy to acquire and accelerate specialist local trading brands”.
It represents the latest move by a PE house to invest in an IT distribution market analysts say is enjoying a return to form in 2026.
But it also follows the collapse at the start of the year of Exertis UK under AURELIUS.
The deal marks DCC’s exit from the technology sector almost two years after it revealed plans to focus on its more profitable energy business.
Nexora operates across four markets in the shape of Pro Audio & Visual, ProAudio, Lighting & Musical Instruments, Custom Compute & Infrastructure, and Consumer Appliances.
Its storage-focused Hammer arm ranked 13th in Oxygen Must-Know Distributors and Marketplaces 2025.
The deal is conditional on the receipt of customary regulatory approvals and, subject to the receipt of such approvals, is expected to complete on or after 1 March 2027, DCC Energy stressed.
