Avnet, Inc. to Acquire IT Solutions Division of Acal plc

Acquisition of Storage Area Networking Specialist Broadens Portfolio Of Storage Solutions in Europe and Adds Complementary Products From Leading Suppliers

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) have recently announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with Acal plc for Avnet to acquire the IT Solutions division of Acal plc. Acal IT Solutions is a leading value-added distributor for Storage Area Networking (SAN), Secure Networking and Electronic Document Management products and services, with operations in the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France and Sweden. The closing of the transaction is subject to approval by Acal shareholders and EU merger control clearance.

With the acquisition, Avnet gains an additional 2000 Acal resellers and system integrators as well as 180 employees experienced in the design and installation of complex solutions addressing storage networking and document management requirements. Acal IT Solutions markets a portfolio of storage networking, networking and fibre channel products from leading suppliers including Brocade, Cisco, Emulex, Juniper and Qlogic and document management solutions from Canon, Fujitsu and Kodak, among others. Its Headway Technology Group is positioned to meet the increasing requirements of document management and storage with a portfolio of products including document capture software, scanners, optical, CD and DVD storage hardware and software and tape backup solutions. In addition, the acquisition of Acal will bring to Avnet a value-added services unit providing network infrastructure planning and implementation and training as well as technical support. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, ACAL IT Solutions revenue was approximately $200 million. Acal IT Solutions will be integrated into Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA business.

Dick Borsboom, president of Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA, commented, "The acquisition of Acals IT Solutions business will significantly expand our product line by adding complementary products in high growth segments including Storage Area Networking (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 transaction will also provide Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA with access to a new market segment through the Headway Technology Group. The group specializes in the design and installation of document imaging solutions that include high-quality document scanners, optical character recognition tools and highly sophisticated hardware and software to manage the data easily.

Mr. 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."

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and technology services and solutions with more than 250 locations serving 73 countries worldwide. The company markets, distributes and optimizes the supply-chain and provides design-chain services for the products of the worlds leading electronic component suppliers, enterprise computer manufacturers and embedded subsystem providers. Avnet brings a breadth and depth of capabilities, such as maximizing inventory efficiency, managing logistics, assembling products and providing engineering design assistance for its 100,000 customers, accelerating their growth through cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2007, Avnet generated revenue of $15.68 billion.