A deal to take over Ingram micro parent, the China-based HNA Group is on the cards as the coronavirus hits the indebted HNA Group. hits the end of the runway.
China Hainan province government plans to take over Ingram Micro parent, the HNA Group and sell off its airline assets as the coronavirus outbreak has hit the conglomerate’s ability to meet financial obligations, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Founded in 1989, Ingram Micro has grown to become the world’s largest wholesale technology distributor providing over 600 IT and mobility technology brands to their reseller customer base. In Europe the company operates and supports customers in over 30 countries.
HNA Technology an associate company of HNA Group, acquired Ingram Micro in an all-cash transaction with an equity value of approximately $6 billion (€5.51 billion) in December 2016.
Just two years after the acquisition, in 2018 HNA Group were in discussions to sell Ingram Micro as the group began to retrench, as they were with faced with soaring debts and Beijing’s crackdown on aggressive dealmaking firms Reuters reported.
In a statement to CRN USA, an Ingram Micro spokeswoman said “The US government mandates that we continue to run our business as a stand-alone company, consistent with our pre-HNA acquisition practices, so any change in our ownership does not impact the fact that Ingram Micro maintains independent operational and financial strength. It is business as usual and will continue to be business as usual.”
