Premier Farnell makes acquisition in the US
PREMIER Farnell today announced a deal to buy a US business as it unveiled a rise in profits and turnover last year.
The Leeds-based electronic components supplier is buying AVID Technologies in a deal worth $13m.
Based in Twinsburg, Ohio, AVID is a privately owned engineering design services company that has expertise in a wide range of technologies, with revenue last year of $8.5 million.
Premier Farnell said that the acquisition is a key step in its “strategic evolution” and will provide its customers with a “wealth of new services and solutions”.
Market segments served by AVID include industrial controls and automation, defence, aerospace, medical, automotive and wireless communications.
Premier Farnell CEO Laurence Bain said: “I am delighted to welcome AVID Technologies to the Premier Farnell group. This acquisition illustrates perfectly how we are evolving our global strategy to establish partnerships with customers at the earliest stage of their designs.”
AVID president Richard Benson, said: “Our company’s legacy and ongoing commitment to quality, integrity and unique services has secured and grown a loyal customer base. We’re excited about becoming part of the Premier Farnell family and to contribute our expertise to its customer-centric and multichannel business model.”
Premier Farnell saw a 2% rise in adjusted pre-tax profits to £76.3m in the year to February 2 on turnover up 2.6% to £968m.
Mr Bain said: “The new financial year has started positively despite the adverse weather conditions that affected North America’s performance in February. As we consider the outlook, investments in our strategy will further increase our capability at the front end of the product development cycle and accelerate the development of our online customer experience. We anticipate this will result in the coming year’s operating margin remaining at broadly similar levels to this year, reflecting the impact of our planned investments; thereafter, the group will be better positioned to deliver financial performance in line with our key performance indicators.”
