Cree Selects Premier Farnell and Digi-Key to Expand Its Global LED Distribution Network

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, and Digi-Key Corporation announced today that the companies have signed an agreement for the distribution of Cree's high-performance LEDs. Digi-Key, a broad-line distributor of electronic components and accessories since 1972, has been distributing Cree's energy-saving power components since 2007.

Premier Farnell will distribute the full standard portfolio of Cree LEDs, including the latest technology solutions in the high-brightness and lighting-class XLamp® families. These products will be distributed throughout Premier Farnell’s global network of companies - Newark, Farnell, Premier Electronics and Farnell-Newark, via its multi-channel model of 35 websites, paper-based catalogues and dedicated field sales forces.

“Premier Farnell has an extensive global customer base, reaching those who are both designing and already using high-brightness LEDs, along with a reputation for excellent customer service,” said Mark Despotes, Cree vice president of global channels. “Distributing our products through Premier Farnell is targeted to add tremendous value to our global network of customers to service the fast-growing LED markets.”

The global agreement covers the Cree LED portfolio, including the award-winning lighting-class XLamp® LEDs and the broad high-brightness portfolio, which includes round, oval, SMD and P4 LEDs. Cree LEDs are available through Digi-Key’s top-rated website and will be added to future print catalogs.

About Premier Farnell:
Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl) is a leading high-service, multi-channel distributor of electronic, maintenance, repair and operation products and specialist services throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. It goes to market with a differentiated value proposition, world-class marketing, a stocked range of 400,000 plus products, and access to 4,000,000 more items from 3,000 top manufacturers. The company has group sales of £744.7 million and 4,100 employees globally.

While global in scope, Premier Farnell recognizes the individual needs of each market and has continued to internationalize its model accordingly, trading locally under different brand names. Its primary electronics businesses trade as Farnell in the UK, Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, Newark in the US, Canada and Mexico, and Premier Electronics in China and Hong Kong. In Singapore, Malaysia and Brazil the operation is known as Farnell Newark. For more information visit the website at www.PremierFarnell.com.

About Digi-Key Corporation:
One of the world’s fastest growing distributors of electronic components, Digi-Key has earned its reputation as an industry leader through its total commitment to service and performance. As a full-service provider of both prototype/design and production quantities of electronic components, Digi-Key has been ranked #1 for Overall Performance for 17 consecutive years from among the nation’s more than 200 distributors (EE Times Distribution Study/ August 2008). Offering more than a million products from over 400 quality name-brand manufacturers, Digi-Key’s commitment to inventory is unparalleled. Access to the company’s broad product offering is available 24/7 at Digi-Key’s top-rated website, www.digikey.com.

About Cree:
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting retrofit solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications.

Cree’s product families include recessed LED down lights, lighting-class power LEDs, high-brightness LEDs, blue and green LED chips, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.

For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.