23/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - Mergers: Avnet/Magirus. Last week, the European Commission authorised the acquisition of German-based IT company Magirus by rival Avnet of the US. The Commission's investigation examined the effects of the planned deal (notified on 17 August) on the market for the wholesale distribution of IT products and the wholesale distribution of data storage products in Austria, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the UK, and of servers in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and the UK, where the combined entity's position would be strong. The Commission found that the merged entity would continue to face competitive constraint from numerous competitors, including internationally active distributors such as Arrow, Ingram Micro and Tech Data, as well as smaller distributors. In addition, IT manufacturers also supply directly resellers and retailers, thereby bypassing wholesalers. (FG/transl.fl)