Wyse changes ownership, appoints new boss

Wyse, the veteran thin client hardware maker, is now owned mostly by a California private equity firm, which has bought “a controlling stake” in the company for $35m.

As Wyse has a turnover of $175m, the purchase price for this unspecified stake appears to be on the thin side too, perhaps reflecting a less than sunny outlook for thin client hardware.

But no, Garnett and Helfrich Capital, a start-up venture buyout fund based in San Jose, is gunning for sales of $1bn by 2010 for its new baby. The firm has bought its stake from the Koos Group, a big Taiwanese conglomerate, which will retain an unspecified “ownership position” in Wyse.

They aim to “bolster Wyse’s software business and support the company’s movement into underserved Asian markets”. A new management team led by John Kish, a so-called CEO in residence at Garnet and Helfrich, has been installed at Wyse to make it all happen. ®