Avnet Closes Bell Micro Acquisition
Avnet paid $7 per share or about $252 million in total equity, as well as about $379 million for debt that belonged to Bell Micro. The acquisition was approved by Bell Micro shareholders and it has passed regulatory approval, according to Avnet.
Bell Micro is the largest acquisition in Avnet’s history, on a revenue basis, and it improves Avnet’s global “scale and scope competitiveness,” according to Roy Vallee, chairman and CEO of Avnet.
“The acquisition of Bell Micro marks an inflection point in Avnet’s history as the clear leader in value-added technology distribution,” Vallee said in a statement. “It strengthens our position in the Americas and Europe, and expands our presence in the fast-growing Latin America market.”
Bell Micro had approximately $3 billion in sales last year and has 1,900 employees in 55 offices in the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America
In calendar year 2009, sales from North America, EMEA and Latin America were 42 percent, 41 percent and 17 percent respectively, according to Avnet. Rick Hamada, Avnet’s president and chief operating officer, said Avent will strengthen its its product portfolio with the deal.
“Bell Micro’s relationships with key hardware, software and services suppliers, further develops Avnet’s product portfolio and technical expertise,” Rick Hamada, Avnet’s president and COO, said in a statement. “Additionally, Bell Micro enhances our value added solutions for the data center and enables us to consolidate our presence in the embedded market, adding to our critical mass and momentum as a leader in embedded technology.”
Avnet plans to integrate Bell Micro’s Latin America and EMEA business and the North American data center business into Avnet Technology Solutions. Bell Micro’s North American embedded business will be integrated into Avnet Electronics Marketing. Avnet still intends to explore strategic alternatives for the single tier reseller business, which had sales of approximately $450 million in 2009, according to Avnet.