14 DAY TRIAL // Avnet announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the European Infrastructure Division of the distributor Magirus Group. This deal will see the ex-Magirus division incorporated into the European Technology Solutions division from Avnet. Avnet will become the largest enterprise solutions distributor in Europe, with clients in all the important and economically powerful European countries. The agreement between Avnet and Magirus covers the distribution of servers, storage systems, software and services of IBM and Hewlett-Packard to resellers in Europe.
Roy Vallee, Avnet's chairman and chief executive officer, commented, "With this acquisition, Avnet Technology Solutions will be the largest value-added distributor for enterprise solutions in Europe. This strategic investment in our Technology Solutions business in EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa) is consistent with our stated desire to expand our successful TS business model globally."
'This acquisition significantly expands our presence and product offerings with both IBM and HP in Europe,' said Dick Borsboom, president of Avnet Technology Solutions, EMEA. 'Not only does this acquisition broaden our geographic coverage, it also enhances our market position by combining the strengths of both organizations. For example, whilst Magirus addresses the high-end server market with HP solutions in Germany, Avnet has until now focused on Intel-oriented server resellers, along with storage and monitors in that country. Combining the two organizations gives customers the benefit of being able to select the solution that best meets their needs and gives Avnet a much broader reseller base to grow with. In Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and Dubai, Avnet will be adding HP to its offerings and will now represent HP in seven European countries. There were already plans at Avnet to build the enterprise, solutions and services business in Scandinavia, and this acquisition creates a good platform for us to start doing so in Denmark and Sweden,' Borsboom added.
The main manufacturers and suppliers of server technologies for Avnet, HP and IBM will also benefit from this transaction as they will face an expanding market, while working with fewer enterprise solutions distributors, so this will make it easier and more efficient for them to do business in Europe.