Avnet acquires Premier Farnell

Electronic component distributor Avnet has announced its acquisition of Premier Farnell in an all-cash merger for £1.85 ($2.95) per share, which equates to an equity value of approximately £691 million ($1.10 billion). The acquisition was approved by Premier Farnell shareholders representing 99.9% of the votes cast and has received all regulatory approvals.

Headquartered in Leeds, UK, Premier Farnell is a global distributor of electronic components that utilises a digital platform to provide innovators and engineers with the latest products, services and development software. The company supports a registered community of more than 430,000 members in 36 countries. It trades in Australia under the name element14.

“The combination of Premier Farnell with Avnet’s components business will create a truly unique distribution model that supports customers at every stage of the product life cycle,” said Avnet CEO William Amelio. “By pairing our deep expertise in large volume broadline distribution with Premier Farnell’s specialisation in proof of concept and design, we can offer true end-to-end solutions that accelerate a customer’s time to market and moves their products seamlessly from prototype through to volume production.”

The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings.