Avnet Makes Offer to Acquire Premier Farnell

By News Release | August 01, 2016

The acquisition of Premier Farnell will substantially strengthen Avnet’s digital footprint worldwide.

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Avnet reached an agreement with the board of directors of Premier Farnell plc on the terms of a recommended offer for Premier Farnell by Avnet or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries. The all-cash offer of £1.85 per share represents an equity value of approximately £691 million and a 12.1% premium over the previous offer of £1.65 per share by Datwyler Technical Components UK Limited. Headquartered in Leeds, UK, Premier Farnell is a global distributor of electronic components and related products that deliver engineering solutions to the electronic system design community utilizing multi-channel sales and marketing resources.

“This acquisition will significantly strengthen Avnet’s digital footprint worldwide. The convergence of Premier Farnell’s innovative online services with Avnet’s world class supply chain will create customer service unparalleled in the industry,” says William Amelio, interim chief executive officer of Avnet. “The talented team of people at Premier Farnell will allow Avnet to enhance our customer experience and accelerate our global growth.”

Avnet has received undertakings to vote in favor of the transaction from Premier Farnell shareholders representing 15% of the issued shares (such undertakings will lapse if a higher offer is announced that Avnet does not match within 21 days). Upon completion, the transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings even before considering positive effects from any synergies realized and supports Avnet’s return on capital goals.

“Premier Farnell will bolster our strategy to provide a differentiated digital experience from product ideation through its life cycle. Premier Farnell’s customers gain access to an extensive suite of supply chain services allowing them to ramp new products to production volumes. Our customers will be able to do more technical research online through the services provided by Premier Farnell,” says Gerry Fay, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Worldwide. “Bringing these two companies together allows us to capture market share earlier in the design process. In addition to deepening our customer base, this acquisition will enhance our go-to-market strategy as we target the industrial Internet of Things with edge-to-enterprise products and solutions.”

Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as financial advisor and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal counsel to Avnet in connection with this transaction.

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