Avnet Creates FPGA Development System; Sells Catalog Operation
Phoenix, AZ-based Avnet Design Services has created a development system based on the Xilinx Virtex field programmable gate array (FPGA). The Virtex development system helps engineers reduce design cycles and give them a significant head start in bringing their designs to production by enabling immediate development and functionality testing.
Xilinx has developed the Virtex series of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to address the concerns of system-level design engineers. Designed for satellite communication (satcom) earth station and next-generation network applications, this family of FPGA devices is fabricated using a 0.22-µm process and provides a density range of 50,000 to 1 million gates (see Xilinx Breaks 1 Million Gate Barrier).
The Virtex development system includes either the Foundation Series or Alliance Series development software from Xilinx, a Xilinx fitter cable, documentation and packaging. The development system supports various FPGA configuration modes and features the Virtex FPGA. It also offers multiple system clocks and digital delay loops (DDL), can be used for core development, and features a JTAG interface.
The Virtex development system will be available exclusively from Avnet. For more information, contact Avnet at 602-643-7555.
Catalog operation sale
Avnet has also entered into an agreement to sell its Allied Electronics catalog business to Electrocomponents plc, a UK-based electronic component catalog distributor. Under the agreement, Electrocomponents will acquire Avnet's catalog business for $380 million in cash.
Based in Fort Worth, TX, Allied Electronics distributes active and passive electronic components, test equipment, and electronic equipment. Allied's principal customers are maintenance and repair organizations as well as the R&D and engineering departments of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Allied had sales of $147 million in its latest fiscal year which ended June 26, 1998. Allied became part of the Avnet organization when Avnet acquired Hall-Mark Electronics in July 1993.
The sale of Allied to Electrocomponents is to the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and is expected to close on July 2, 1999. The transaction, once complete, will result in a gain to be recorded in Avnet's fourth fiscal quarter ending July 2, 1999.