INGRAM MICRO/INTELLIGENT ELECTRONICS BACKGROUNDER

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 30, 1997

What we're announcing
Ingram Micro has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Reseller Network Division (RND) of Intelligent Electronics (IE). Pending regulatory and Intelligent Electronics' stockholder approval, the deal should be completed by early summer.

Both companies are well-known in the technology wholesale distributor business, with Ingram Micro being the world's largest wholesale distributor of technology products and services, and IE a top-tier player with strong ties to important manufacturers and resellers.

The RND acquisition will benefit Ingram Micro and its reseller customer base in a number of ways:

• First, it immediately strengthens Ingram Micro's leadership position by tapping an important additional revenue source.
• The acquisition also improves Ingram Micro's supply chain. While the company already has excellent relationships with more than 1,100 manufacturers worldwide, IE's Reseller Network Division gives it even stronger ties to five key manufacturers: Apple Computer Inc., Compaq Computer Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Toshiba America Information Systems.
• Additionally, Ingram Micro will become the primary wholesale distributor of IE's XLSource for a period of three years -- a $600 million "top 10" authorized dealer and reseller for more than 80 manufacturers.
• For the reseller community, the company will fold IE's popular and highly successful reseller programs into Ingram Micro's expanding suite of services. These programs will offer resellers advanced technical support, integration, training, marketing and business support to increase profitability and efficiency.
• The acquisition also helps resellers by improving Ingram Micro's configuration capabilities, as well as its access to a well-established national service network that supports more than 230 members that supply services to thousands of customers.
• Lastly, by strengthening Ingram Micro's relationships with key manufacturers, the acquisition also helps resellers by providing a more reliable source of inventory, including difficult-to-find and "most-wanted" products.

The terms of the deal
Ingram Micro will pay up to $78 million in a combination of cash and net liabilities assumed for IE's Reseller Network Division. The acquisition will require the approval of both IE's shareholders and regulatory agencies.

The RND division will become part of Ingram Micro Inc. The acquisition includes members of RND's talented senior executives, further strengthening Ingram Micro's senior management team. Both companies share a corporate culture with similar values, vision and style, making the integration of management teams a smooth one. The organizational structure and appointments of executives should be finalized prior to the completion of acquisition this summer.

Ingram Micro will acquire only IE's Reseller Network Division; not its XLSource and XLConnect business. A primary motivation for this decision is Ingram Micro's commitment to not compete directly with its reseller customers.

The RND division complements Ingram Micro's "wholesale aggregation" business, Ingram Alliance, a company that offers resellers access to products from the industry's leading hardware manufacturers under specialized terms. In Q1 '97, Ingram Alliance grew by 83 percent.

How this deal benefits Intelligent Electronics
While the acquisition enhances Ingram Micro's revenues, it also gives Intelligent Electronics the opportunity to better focus its expertise on its direct business, XLSource and XLConnect. The acquisition also gives Intelligent Electronics the opportunity to become more profitable and more competitive with a single market focus.

Contact:

Kimmerly W. Strohm
Investor Relations
Ingram Micro Inc.
714-566-1000 ext. 24400

Kirsten Frosh
Media Relations
Ingram Micro Inc.
714-566-1000 ext. 22727

Kent Redding
Director of Marketing Communications
Intelligent Electronics, Inc.
303-486-5251

Fran Barsky
Director of Investor Relations
Intelligent Electronics, Inc.
610-458-6562