February 15, 2001 - Avnet Inc. Forms Avnet Israel

Phoenix, AZ -- Roy Vallee, chairman and chief executive officer of Avnet Inc. (NYSE:AVT), Thursday announced the formation of Avnet Components Israel Ltd. (Avnet Israel), resulting from the merger of Avnet-Gallium Co. Ltd. and RDT Technologies Ltd., both of Tel Aviv.

The new company will be the largest value-added electronic components distributor in Israel.

Sales for the 60-employee RDT Technologies group for the year ending Dec. 31, 2000 were approximately U.S.$90 million. Avnet-Gallium's sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000 were approximately U.S.$16 million.

Avnet acquired 10 percent equity in a subsidiary of RDT Technologies, SEI/RDT Components Ltd., a leading value-added distributor representing manufacturers of high technology products in Israel, when it acquired Eurotronics B.V. (doing business as SEI) on Jan. 3, 2000.

Avnet is now acquiring the other 90 percent of SEI/RDT Components and its subsidiary SpecTec Electronics Ltd., as well as full ownership of the ASIC design and distribution activity of RDT Technologies and its subsidiary Ormic Components Ltd., specializing in RF and microwave components. RDT Technologies is part of the RDT Ltd. Group, founded in 1963 by Israel Adir, chairman and chief executive officer.

RDT Ltd. will retain ownership of RDT Equipments & Systems Ltd., Ankor Computers Ltd., Itec Ltd., Teakteam Ltd. and a string of investments in technology advanced start-ups.

"Avnet is growing globally through strategic acquisitions," said Vallee. "We are expanding our operations throughout the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region via organic and acquisitive growth, strengthening our commitment to provide the highest value relationships to our customers and suppliers, and taking our business into new markets.

"We are very pleased to be gaining the talented management and employees of RDT Technologies."

Avnet Israel will operate under the umbrella of Avnet Electronics Marketing (EM)/EMEA and will be headed by Avnet-Gallium's two managing directors Rami Segal and Tzachi Kriezee, and Dani Koren, formerly managing director and major shareholder of RDT Technologies. The three will report to Axel Hartstang, president of Avnet EM/EMEA.

"We will be combining the best practices of RDT and Avnet-Gallium to serve our customers and suppliers with more robust product and service offerings," said Brian Hilton, co-president of EM Global.

Avnet Israel will represent approximately 15 percent of the electronic component total available market in that country.

RDT's premier lines are Philips Semiconductors (ASIC), Tyco/AMP, Cypress, Linear, IR and Hitachi. RDT Technologies has recently consolidated its two 15-year-old ASIC design centers into a single design center fully dedicated to Philips Semiconductors. To date, more than 100 designs have been completed for customers.

"Avnet Israel, like Avnet-Gallium and RDT Technologies, will be fully dedicated to and focused on demand creation," Krieze said. "Half of the employees of Avnet Israel are dedicated to technical support of the product lines sold. This is our core way of doing business."

Avnet Electronics Marketing is an operating group of Phoenix-based Avnet Inc., a Fortune 500 company with annual sales exceeding $11.7 billion. Avnet is one of the world's largest distributors of semiconductors, interconnect, passive, and electromechanical components and computer products from leading manufacturers.

Serving customers in 63 countries, Avnet markets, inventories and adds value to these products and provides world-class supply-chain management and engineering design services. The company's Web site is located at http://www.avnet.com