Overclockers UK swallowed by private equity firm Afinum

VC owner of component distributor Caseking gets acquisitive

German private equity firm Afinum - owners of distributor Caseking - has swallowed specialist components etailer Overclockers UK for an undisclosed sum.

Vahid Gharaei, biz development manager at Caseking told The Reg it had been seeking to break into the UK market for some time.

"The economy being the way it is today we were looking for a company that is healthy and has some potential," he said.

Started in 1999 by Mark Proudfoot (aka Spie), Overclockers modifies CPUs to make them run faster than specified by the manufacturer, flogging them to the gaming enthusiast markets.

It made a profit after tax of £2.7m on the back of sales of £32m in the year to 30 April 2011.

Caseking employs 65 staff with its base in Germany but operates satellite offices in Austria, the Netherlands and France.

It started out as a wholesaler of case and cooling kit, but a year-and-a half ago began flogging components to consumers and system integrators, a business-to-business channel that may be aped by Overclockers, said Gharaei.

In a statement on its site, Proudfoot confirmed Caseking bosses Toni Sonn and Kay Kostadinov are set to become joint managing directors of Overclockers.

"They intend to take Overclockers UK to the next level by investing in technology, new product offerings and a strengthening of its online presence," the statement said.

Overclockers technical director David Middling and purchasing manager Andy Gibson will remain on board, but Proudfoot revealed he has yet to confirm his role.

"What does the future hold for me? That’s something I’m looking forward to finding out," he said. ®