Avnet acquires leading AS/400 distributor Savoir
Jim Martin
Savoir Technology Group, Inc., the leading distributor of IBM midrange server products in the Americas, has officially been acquired by Avnet, Inc., a Fortune 300 company and one of the world’s largest distributors of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electrochemical components and computer products from leading manufacturers.
Savoir's IBM distribution business, which includes the AS/400, RS/6000, Netfinity and S/390 servers, will fold into Hall-Mark Global Solutions, a division of Avnet Computer Marketing, based in Tempe, Ariz. A value-added distributor of enterprise computing systems and software, Hall-Mark global solutions markets exclusively to the value-added reseller channel.
As part of the agreement, Savoir's 600 North American employees will immediately begin integrating into Avnet's Computer Marketing and Applied Computing Group. Together, they will focus on providing solutions for integration, professional services, technical and configuration support, financing, logistics, marketing and e-business initiatives to VARs.
"The addition of Savoir positions Avnet as the number one global value-added distributor of IBM midrange computing products,” says Roy Vallee, Avnet chairman and CEO. “We're confident that the merger of the two companies will benefit suppliers, customers and shareholders. I fully expect the transaction to be accretive to Avnet's earnings per share in the six-month period following the merger."
Savoir's storage products sector, with approximately $60 million in sales, and its integration business, with about $15 million in sales, will fall under the umbrella of Avnet Applied Computing, which markets to original equipment manufacturers.
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