Rigby Private Equity (RPE) creates the Nuvias Group, a holding company for a pan-EMEA high-value distributor formed by Wick Hill and Zycko.

Nuvias insists there will be no changes for vendors and resellers dealing with the two companies, with both continuing operations from their current sites, with existing staff, and headed by their respective heads.

However RPE adds the future will see more acquisitions of value-add specialist distributors, as well as the addition of more countries, services provided, and new vendor and reseller partners. The Nuvias portfolio currently consists of networking, infrastructure, security, communications, storage, continuity, recovery, access, performance, monitoring and management.

Antivirus software vendor Avast acquires more security through Czech Republic-based security developer AVG in a deal worth around $1.3 billion.

The deal creates an entity with a network of over 400 million endpoints (160 million of which are mobile), all acting as "de facto sensors" to further broaden the Avast malware intel library.

As the company puts it, the reason behind the purchase is to "gain scale, technological depth and geographical depth." As such, Avast plans to pursue business beyond PC antivirus software to more advanced offerings, such as security for Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Nortek, the diversified industrial company that holds 9 of our industry's brands in its Audio, Video & Control group, will sell the entire company to a British turn-around specialist for $2.6 billion...or maybe not...

Nortek's Audio, Video & Control brands include ELAN, Furman, Gefen, Niles, Panamax, Xantech, Speakercraft, Proficient and Sunfire.

Another division, Ergonomic & Productivity Solutions, also includes brands in our channels, Ergotron, Anthro and OmniMount. (Which always raises the question for AV: "What, we aren't ergonomic or productive enough for those brands to join us in AV Control?")

These brands-- and all of Nortek-- are signed away in $2.8 billion deal with Melrose Plc in the UK.

Don't fall for the headlines about "a merger" because the merger is only the temporary financial vehicle that maximizes the British investment and probably reduces US federal corporate tax (Thank you, Nevada tax laws). In this deal, Nortek would end up as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Melrose PLC, a public company enjoying the publicity of one of the first post-Brexit acquisitions.

The San Jose, California court decides in favour of HPE as it declares Oracle should cough up $3 billion in damages over a 2011 breach of contract.

The fight involves the Oracle decision to quit database software development for Intel Itanium processors. The company then known as HP used Itanium processors in a number of servers, and as such accused Oracle of trying to force customers to migrate to SPARC/Solaris systems-- an Oracle-owned server line via the acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

The courts had already decided against Oracle in 2012, when judge James Kleinberg ruled a contract forced Oracle to continue supporting Itanium as long as HP used the processors. In turn Oracle denied any wrongdoing and launched (and lost) an appeal. Now it is ready to appeal yet again.

Crestron expands its European presence with a first Experience Centre in France, specifically in Nanterre, Paris, the fifth such centre opened worldwide.

The company already has a UK Experience Centre in Cobham, as well as 3 US centres located in California, Texas and New Jersey. The centres showcase the latest Crestron technology in an immersive environments, allowing dealers to demonstrate company solutions to prospective customers.

Solutions on show include the DigitalMedia A/V distribution system, the IP-based .AV Framework, Pyng home automation technology, Fusion enterprise management software, the PinPoint indoor navigation system and a variety of touchscreens and handheld remotes.

In 2009 the European Commission fined Intel €1.06 billion for abusing of its dominant market position. Seven years on Intel is still fighting the ruling as it files a final appeal to get it overturned.

The decision came about through an EU probe on whether a company with very large market share "can pursue a commercial strategy, the focus of which is the marginalisation or even the elimination of its only competitor.” According to the EC was attempting to do so through loyalty rebates to lower retail prices, thus unfairly squeezing out AMD.

Other anti-competitive practices from Intel during the 2002-2005 uncovered by the probe include restrictive conditions on rival processor use on PC makers (specifically Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and NEC) and payments to retails who exclusively sold Intel Inside PCs.