Merisel Names New CEO; Investigating August Sale

Jensen resigned Nov. 15 following the distributor's decision to investigate the August sale of its software licensing business.

The investigation is focusing on Jenson's relationships with D&H Services and its principals and whether the terms of the transaction were fair to Merisel shareholders, said Lesley Mobbs, legal manager at Merisel, El Segundo, Calif.

D&H Services, a Virginia-based company unrelated to D&H Distributing, purchased Merisel's software licensing business for a price that was to be determined on the closing date. It was expected to be about $1 million, figuring $11.5 million in assets and $10.5 million in assumed liabilities, according to the company.

Merisel may consider a recision of the D&H Services sale and other legal options to recover any damages suffered by the company, according to Merisel.

Merisel has no ongoing revenue stream after selling the software licensing business, but has about $48 million in assets, according to the company.

Merisel was once a multibillion broadline and Sun Microsystems distributor, but it sold or lost most of its product lines in the last few years.

Most recently, its software business was dealt a near-fatal blow when McAfee terminated its distribution agreement in August. McAfee had represented about 90 percent of Merisel's revenue, according to Merisel.

Jenson told CRN in August that Merisel was looking to acquire a distribution company, most likely outside the IT space.

Since December 2002, Uzzi has provided private consulting services on marketing, corporate strategy and communications. Prior to that, he was most recently senior vice president of the senior leader operating team at EDS, where his responsibilities included advertising, marketing, communications, government affairs, strategic alliance planning and alliance sales on a global basis.