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                                                                      EXHIBIT 99


BELL MICROPRODUCTS SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATES A NEW $175 MILLION CREDIT FACILITY

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 15 /PRNewswire/-- Bell Microproducts (Nasdaq: BELM) today
announced that it has refinanced its two principal North and South American
banking credit facilities scheduled to mature during 2001.

The company successfully closed a new $175 million two-year North and South
America credit facility with First Union National Bank as principal agent, and
Congress Financial Corporation as co-agent and administrative agent. California
Bank & Trust, which was the company's principal provider of its North American
banking credit facility, will remain part of the syndication as a lender. This
new credit facility replaces a $50 million US facility that was to expire on May
31, 2001, and a $15 million Latin America facility that was to expire on June
30, 2001.

"We are pleased with the support Bell Microproducts has received from the new
bank group," stated Donald Bell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bell
Microproducts. "We intend to use the new credit facility to pay off an $80
million 9 1/8% note with the Retirement System of Alabama due June 30, 2001,
which will result in significant reduction in our interest expense costs,"
commented Bell. "In addition, the new facility will provide our company with
working capital to fund growth and finance future acquisitions," concluded Bell.

About Bell Microproducts

Bell Microproducts is an international, value-added provider of a wide range of
high-technology products, solutions, and services to the industrial and
commercial markets. The company's offering includes semiconductors, computer
platforms, peripherals, and storage products of various types including desktop,
high-end computer and storage subsystems, fibre channel connectivity products,
RAID, NAS and SAN storage systems and back-up products. Bell Microproducts is an
industry-recognized specialist in storage products and is one of the world's
largest storage-centric value-added distributors.

The company's products are available at any level of integration, from
components to subsystem assemblies and fully-integrated, tested and certified
system solutions. The company adds value with a broad range of services
including testing, software loading, kitting, mass storage system integration,
and computer system integration. Trained and certified technical personnel
complete each of these processes at Bell Microproducts' ISO 9002 facilities.
Bell Microproducts markets and distributes more than 150 brand name product
lines, as well as its own BellStor and Rorke Data storage and Trademark(R)
computer brands, to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contract electronic
manufacturing services (EMS) customers, value-added resellers (VARs) and system
integrators in the Americas and Europe. More information can be found in the
company's SEC filings, or by visiting the Bell Microproducts Web site at
http://www.bellmicro.com.



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Safe Harbor Statement

This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements, which reflect the Company's current views of future events and
financial performance, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which
could cause actual results or facts to differ materially from such statements
for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to: the ability to
successfully integrate the operations of recent acquisitions, industry
conditions, changes in product supply, pricing, and customer demand,
competition, other vagaries in the computer and electronic components markets,
changes in relationships with key suppliers, foreign currency fluctuations and
the other risks described from time to time in the Company's reports to the
Securities and Exchange Commission (including the company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K). Investors should take such risks into account when making investment
decisions. Shareholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on
which they are made. The company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or
revise any forward-looking statements.