Avnet to acquire Horizon

Global distribution giant Avnet has extended its reach with the announcement that Irish distributor Horizon Technology has agreed to accept a cash offer of €101.3 million.

The deal comes after months of buy-out speculation from the two companies; stoked further when Horizon admitted that it was in talks with a potential buyer.

Any potential merger is subject to EU merger controls, but the companies have said that they are confident there will be no problems.

Avnet chairman and CEO Roy Vallee said: "The acquisition of Horizon will strengthen Avnet Technology Solutions’ position in the UK IT distribution market and expand its geographic coverage into Ireland.

"Horizon’s position with Tier one vendors and growing services practice offers an opportunity to bolster Avnet’s current product and services offerings in Europe."

"Horizon is currently the largest Sun distributor in the UK with just under 50 per cent of the market, and taking into account Avnet’s Sun share, the deal will see the combined firm controlling around 80 per cent of the market," commented Interface’s sales director Rob Tomlin.

"We’re confident that our position as the, now, second largest Sun distributor will help to further drive our growth in the market. We’re rapidly growing our business in the server market so any increased promotion will also benefit us.

Tomlin, however, raised concerns over Avnet’s recent pace of acquisitions. "This is now the fourth company it has bought in the last year and we’re not sure what effect it is having on its credit lines.

"It’s also likely to cause a massive headache integrating all those firms."