Ingram Micro Agrees To $7.2B Acquisition By Platinum Private Equity

Irvine, Calif.-based IT distributor Ingram Micro has entered into an agreement to be purchased by Platinum Equity Partners for $7.2 billion.

Ingram Micro ownership is returning stateside with an announcement Wednesday that the company will be purchased by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Platinum Equity Partners for $7.2 billion.

The deal ends four years of ownership by HNA Group, a massive Chinese air carrier that embarked on a heavily leveraged acquisition binge that has since hobbled its growth and forced it to divest property as it struggles to make payments on its debt. HNA told Chinese regulators in May that it missed a $750 million payment on a $4 billion loan that was used to buy Ingram Micro.

The deal is expected to close in early 2021. Platinum Equity Partners, which was founded by Chairman and CEO Tom Gores in 1995, has $23 billion in assets under management. Gores also owns the Detroit Pistons.

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“It is great news,” said Mark Essayian, president of KME Systems, a Lake Forest, Calif.-based MSP. “I’m very glad to see Ingram Micro management remove the company from Chinese ownership. As a partner of Ingram, I applaud the growth that they have achieved and welcome the comments by [Ingram Micro CEO] Alain Monié and Tom Gores focused on making Ingram even stronger.”

HNA Group purchased Ingram Micro for $6 billion in 2016. HNA Group’s ties to the Chinese government were always a concern for Ingram Micro’s partners, despite reassurances that the company was “ring-fenced” from Beijing’s influence by U.S. treaties.

Even as HNA’s fortunes floundered, Ingram Micro has continued to grow. The company has more than 35,000 employees, 250,000 customers and partnerships with more than 2,000 vendors.

“Ingram Micro is an industry leader, one of the largest companies in the world and will be a cornerstone investment in our portfolio,” said Gores. ”We have the resources and the experience to help the company pursue an aggressive agenda of growth and transformation.”

Monié will remain Ingram Micro’s CEO, and the company will continue to be based in Irvine, Calif., according to Platinum Equity Partners.

“Platinum‘s sector expertise, global operating capabilities and financial resources make it the ideal partner,” Monié said in a statement. ”Teaming with Platinum provides an opportunity to further strengthen our competitive advantage in the cloud, speed our digital transformation and accelerate the expansion of our solutions and services portfolio, particularly for high-value markets. We will also be able to broaden our geographic reach even faster, while penetrating new industries and verticals. We will maintain a strong balance sheet and will gain additional flexibility and resources to execute on our long-term strategic objectives. HNA has been a good partner for Ingram Micro, enabling us to continue to innovate and expand our global businesses. We look forward to the opportunity to accelerate this trajectory with Platinum.”