Maxdata launched into the notebook business at the Computer Trade Show today. The company has sold monitors in the UK for the last two years and is set to float on the German stock market in June. The company is part of large German Metro group, which at one time owned Vobis and Peacock as well as Maxdata. Peacock was sold last year, while Vobis, which still has several hundred stores in Germany, is up for sale. At the end of last year, two banks agreed to form a holding company called Divag, which is masterminding the sell off of Vobis and the Maxdata IPO. Maxdata has sold notebooks into the German market for some years, and its launch of the Intel based units, under the Artist brand, is aimed at dealers selling into the small and medium sized market. ®