LOS ANGELES -- Distributor-supplier Lieberman Enterprises Inc. said Tuesday it plans to acquire Navarre Corp., another distribution company, for an undisclosed price.
Lieberman, a unit of Live Entertainment Inc. of Los Angeles, said it had signed a letter of intent with privately held Navarre.
Spokeswoman Vicki Greenleaf said Live hopes to close the deal by the end of the year.
Both companies are headquartered in Minneapolis.
Lieberman provides more than 3,000 mass merchant locations with merchandising services for music, videocassettes and personal computer software. Navarre is one of the nation's largest distributors of personal computer software and the largest independent music distributor in the Midwest.
Lieberman employs about 1,000 workers, and Navarre has about 95 employees. Greenleaf said Live plans to retain the Navarre employees.
Under the deal, Eric Paulson, president and chief executive officer of Navarre, will join Lieberman as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Gilbert Wachsman, president and chief executive officer of Lieberman, said the deal will make Lieberman the nation's largest rackjobber of personal computer software.
Live said last week that Lieberman's revenues in September were its best non-December month ever. It also said the unit's third-quarter revenues were up 15 percent over the year-ago period.
