Platinum Equity completes acquisition of Ingram Micro for US$7.2 billion

Private equity powerhouse Platinum Equity, has officially announced that it has completed the acquisition of Ingram Micro for US$7.2 billion in a blockbuster deal that frees the distributor from financially troubled Chinese conglomerate HNA Group in a transaction that includes US$5.9 billion of equity value.

The deal, which was expected to be finalised by the second quarter of 2021, took seven months to complete.

With US$49 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2020, Ingram Micro is the world’s largest provider of technology solutions and mobility, cloud, platform and supply chain solutions.

Now that the deal is done, it sets up an epic battle for distribution dominance between Ingram Micro and Tech Data-Synnex which will become the world’s largest distributor when it completes its merger in the second half of 2021. That blockbuster Tech Data-Synnex deal undoes Ingram’s three decade reign as the world’s largest distributor.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Irvine, California, Ingram Micro is an integral part of the technology and ecommerce ecosystems, helping its channel partners maximise the value of the technology that they make, sell or use.

“As the largest technology distributor in the world, Ingram Micro plays a vital role helping companies innovate and adapt, which is especially important now as we continue to emerge from the pandemic,” said Tom Gores, Chairman and CEO, Platinum Equity. “Corporate IT priorities are shifting, e-commerce is thriving and the pace of digitisation continues to accelerate, which makes the technology products, services and advanced solutions the company provides more important than ever. We are excited to put our resources and experience to work helping Ingram Micro navigate these especially fluid times.”

With more than 35,000 employees and operations in 60 countries, the company serves more than 170,000 customers and channel partners with over 1,600 vendors, including the world’s best-known technology companies. Through its vast global infrastructure and focus on cloud, mobility, technology lifecycle, supply chain and technology solutions, Ingram Micro enables business partners to operate more efficiently and successfully in the markets they serve.

“For Platinum, this acquisition is the culmination of more than a decade investing in the technology and IT distribution space,” said Jacob Kotzubei, Partner, Platinum Equity, whose team has led multiple technology transactions, including Platinum Equity’s investment in Vertiv. “We know the industry well and our team is ready to hit the ground running to support Alain and the company’s leadership group. With a strong balance sheet and access to Platinum’s financial and operational resources, Ingram Micro has a lot of attractive opportunities ahead.”

Alain Monié will continue to lead Ingram Micro as CEO supported by his leadership team, and the company will continue to be headquartered in Irvine, California.

“We are proud to join Platinum’s global portfolio of industry leading companies and are excited to begin our future with a prominent, US-based partner with the desire and substantial resources to accelerate our innovation and our vendor and customer services and solutions strategies on a worldwide basis,” said Monié. “Platinum shares our vision for Ingram Micro and is dedicated to us continuing to develop and offer innovative solutions across the IT ecosystem, while providing a superior experience for our customer and vendor partners and a work environment where our associates can thrive.”

“In addition to its core distribution business, Ingram has built strong capabilities in logistics services and, cloud and hybrid cloud solutions,” said Matt Louie, Managing Director, Platinum Equity. “The company has built those businesses methodically through a combination of organic and acquisitive investment. We expect to accelerate those efforts and aim for an even higher growth trajectory.”