Investor Group Takes Over Micro Warehouse

Micro Warehouse Inc., which sells computers and networking equipment via the Internet and catalogs, said an investor group led by Northwest Airlines Corp. Chairman Gary Wilson, former IBM Corp. executive Jerome York and Freeman Spogli & Co. has taken control of the company. Shareholders of Micro Warehouse have agreed to sell about 32.4 million shares for $19 each, or $614.7 million. The company will buy $193.3 million worth of those shares; the investor group will purchase the rest, giving them a 93.5% stake.

Micro Warehouse said York, 61, was named chief executive, chairman and president, replacing co-founder Peter Godfrey, who resigned. Shares of Norwalk, Conn.-based Micro Warehouse lost more than half their value last year before the tender offer was announced Dec. 21. The stock rose 88 cents to $19 on Nasdaq.

Other investors in the group include Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz, investor Alfred Boyer and Freeman Spogli’s Bradford Freeman, Charles Rullman and William Johnson. All of the group’s members will sit on a new Micro Warehouse board.