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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW) announced that the company has completed its previously announced acquisition of the ALTIMATE Group (“ALTIMATE”), a subsidiary of DCC plc. ALTIMATE is a European value-added distributor of enterprise and midrange computing products, services, and solutions.
Headquartered in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France, ALTIMATE has approximately 250 employees. The company’s sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 were approximately $340 million.
Arrow Electronics (www.arrow.com) is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 120,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and commercial customers through a global network of more than 390 locations in 53 countries.
{complink 453|Arrow Electronics Inc.}
Barbara, In this acquisition, I see Wima as being the new item on the line card. Avnet already had Yageo, FCI, Kemet, etc. With over 300 Avnet locations worldwide, is this Altron acquistion to extend their reach only? Because Avnet already has an incredible online presence, couldn't Altron's customers just buy form Avnet anyway? Altron was not that big that they could compete price-for-price on electronic components if Avnet decided to target that region without the acquisition. What do you think the significant reason for the purchase is?
Hi Douglas, great question! Distribution has gone from acquiring to add lines to acquiring for customer reach and market share. Although Avnet already carries nearly every key line–or a compatible item–across all component areas, Altron's customer base was likely part of the interest. The other aspect is becoming more valuable to your suppliers, and consolidating Alton and Avnet means suppliers have one fewer distributor to supply, manage and train. (The same is true for customers: instead of buying from Altron and Avnet, Avnet may be a more one-stop shop, since they carry chips as well.) One last possibility: in Germany, Avnet has a well-established semiconductor presence through EBV (part of the old VEBA). I believe Avnet has less of a presence (or perhaps brand) in IP&E.