EU sanctions Avnet-BellMicro merger
The European Commission has ruled that the $594m deal will not stifle competition in Europe, including in the UK and Dutch strongholds
Avnet’s acquisition of Bell Micro has received EU clearance after it was concluded that the likes of Ingram Micro, Arrow and Tech Data would provide sufficient competition to the enlarged firm in Europe.
The European Commission examined the effect the $594m deal, announced in March, would have on the IT distribution market in the European Economic Area.
The European Commission was concerned with Avnet’s position in the Dutch & UK server and data storage markets.
However, the Commission was satisfied that Avnet would continue to face competitive constraint from numerous distributors, both large as well as smaller distributors.
It stated: “Given the competitive constraint exerted by alternative distributors and IT manufacturers, the Commission found that the proposed acquisition would not give rise to competition concerns, including in narrow market segments.”
