Avnet snaps up IT Solutions division of Acal

Distributor grows its storage offering and adds another 2000 resellers to its books

Ambitious distributor Avnet has reached a definitive agreement with Acal to acquire its IT Solutions storage networking division.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is still subject to approval by Acal shareholders and EU merger control clearance.

Acal IT Solutions specialises in SAN, secure networking and electronic documnet management products and services, with operations in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Sweden. Its vendors include Brocade, Cisco, Juniper and Qlogic.

The acquisition will also give Avnet a ready-made valude-added services unit offering network infrastructure planning and implementation and trainingas well as technical support. Dick Borsboom, president of Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA, said: “The acquisition of Acal’s IT Solutions business will significantly expand our product line by adding complementary products in high growth segments including SAN, wired and wireless networking and security, and document management.

"In addition, Acal IT Solutions brings a suite of professional services that will enhance our ability to deliver solutions and services that meet the increasingly complex requirements of the combined customer base. We are excited about the opportunities this transaction will provide to deepen our engagement with our reseller partners and accelerate the growth of Technology Solutions in Europe.”

The deal will also propel Avnet's EMEA operations into new markets through its Headway Technology Group - which specialises in the design and installation of document imaging solutions.

Borsboom added, “While document management and imaging started out as separate markets, they are now migrating to enterprise content management solutions as enterprises seek to automate, or virtualize, their business processes. This suite of products and services offers significant opportunities for cross selling because we can expand the range of opportunities we can address with a complete solution.”