Avnet is to acquire the European enterprise infrastructure division (EID) of HP and IBM distributor Magirus Group.

Financial terms were undisclosed, but the deal will see Avnet, which dishes out electronic components to resellers, grow to being one of the largest disties in Europe.

The firm said Magirus EID will be integrated into the technology solutions arm of its European operation.

The agreement with Avnet will see Magirus handing over the distribution of IBM and HP servers, storage systems, software, and services to resellers in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and Dubai.

Acquisition-happy Avnet, which in the past 18 months has clocked up deals with several European disties, said its latest deal will net the firm an extra 1,300 reseller customers as well as 140 staff.

Chairman and CEO Roy Vallee said Avnet is continuing to eye up EMEA with the hope of expanding its market reach beyond Europe.

The agreement, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in October this year, with the firm aiming for full integration by June 2008. ®