Insight Enterprises, the very big US reseller, is to buy its smaller rival Software Spectrum for $287m.

The surprise here is just how long the owner, web backbone provider Level 3, held on to its subsidiary. In 2002, Level 3 bought Software Spectrum and Corporate Software, one of the first big resellers, and merged them into each other.

At the time it spouted a lot of nonsense about convergence, although we wondered what broadband and software distribution had in common. Conveniently, the purchase bulked up Level 3 sales and enabled it to avoid breaking banking covenants.

So we guess that this divestment marks the official divergence of communications and flogging commodity software to corporates.

Press release here (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060720/lath085.html?.v=59). ®

Related stories

• Huge write-off takes Insight Enterprises into loss (12 August 2008)

  http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2008/08/12/insight_enterprises_q2_earnings/

• Insight profit down nearly half in Q3 (2 November 2007)

  http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/11/02/insight_q3_results/

• Insight opens China front (12 October 2006)

  http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/10/12/insight_enterprises_opens_china_front/

• Insight pays DoJ to end investigation (29 March 2006)

  http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/03/29/insight_settles/

• Insight holding out (27 January 2006)

  http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2006/01/27/insight_q4_05_earnings/

• Insight exits PlusNet, raises £15.8m (14 December 2004)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/14/plusnet_bt_mou/

• S&P slams Level 3 acquisition plans (8 August 2002)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/08/08/s_p_slams_level/

• Level 3 buys Software Spectrum (3 May 2002)

  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/05/03/level_3_buys_software_spectrum/