The European Commission Friday cleared U.S. information technology distributor Avnet Inc. (AVT) to buy U.S. technology distributor Bell Microproducts Inc. (BELM) for $252 million.

The deal, the largest in Avnet's history, is intended to strengthen Avnet's presence in Latin American markets and expand the company's storage capabilities, said Avnet CEO Roy Vallee in a statement in March.

The company also hopes to revive sales of products such as hard drives after recent difficulties owing to the global economic recession.

-By David Tidmarsh, Dow Jones Newswires; +32 (0)2 741 1 489; david.tidmarsh@dowjones.com
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