US private equity firm Platinum Equity is currently in advanced talks to buy Ingram Micro from HNA Group, in a deal said to be worth around $7 billion.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that talks are still ongoing and could yet break down, while the distributor has also drawn interest from other suitors.
Representatives for HNA, Premium Equity, and Ingram Micro itself have so far declined to comment on the situation.
There has been talk of a sale before, however, with HNA revealing in December 2018 that it was in discussions to sell the distributor. Back then, it was Apollo Global Management that was said to be the interested party, with a deal worth around $7.5 billion reportedly on the cards.
Although that deal came to nothing, a group led by Asian private equity company RRJ was said to be in talks to invest $4 billion in Ingram Micro back in August last year.
HNA purchased Ingram Micro back in 2016 in a deal worth around $6 billion – but has since stumbled upon uncertain ground, with widespread reports surfacing regarding its debt issues and intentions to sell off its assets.
Ingram Micro said at the time that this uncertainty surrounding its parent company would not hamper its own operations, with terms of its sale to HNA dictating that the distributor must be run as a standalone business.
Should this latest potential deal come to fruition, it would be among the largest-ever deals for California-based Platinum Equity, which currently manages around $23 billion worth of assets, Bloomberg said.
