Avnet Inks Deal In Electronics Market

The electrical market isn’t the only distribution-based industry making headlines about global acquisitions and worldwide market expansion.

In the electronics components market, Avnet Inc., Phoenix, strengthen its already dominant position as a global player on the electronics stage when it recently announced plans to acquire Horizon Technology Group plc, an Irish distributor of enterprise server, storage, networking and security products from vendors such as Sun Microsystems, EMC, F5 Networks Juniper, IBM and Nortel.

Avnet’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Avnet Holdings Ltd., plans to acquire Horizon in an all-cash offer for approximately $149.6 million. The transaction, which is subject to, among other things, the completion of a tender offer under the Irish Takeover Rules and EU merger control clearance, is expected to close by the end of June 2008. Horizon had 2007 sales of approximately $452 million and focuses on the Irish and British markets. Avnet had 2007 sales of $15.68 billion and 11,800 employees at 300 locations in 73 countries.

Roy Vallee, Avnet’s chairman and CEO, said, “The acquisition of Horizon will substantially strengthen Avnet Technology Solutions’ position in the UK IT distribution market and expand its geographic coverage into Ireland. Horizon’s leading position with Tier 1 vendors and growing services practices offer an opportunity to bolster Avnet’s current product and services offerings in Europe.”

In another deal with global implications, Avnet inked a deal with FCI, the French supplier of electronic connectors and interconnect systems and parent of FCI/Burndy, Manchester, N.H., to distribute FCI’s full product line to customers throughout the more than 70 countries. The two companies had a previous marketing relationship. In addition to its interests in the electronics market, Avnet is established in the lighting business through its Arrow Electronics Lighting Group. The business unit distributes LED components to OEMs.