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Tech Data has agreed to merge with Fremont, California-based SYNNEX Corp in a deal valued at $7.2 billion including net debt. Tech Data is a Clearwater-based IT distributor and was the largest publicly traded company in the Tampa Bay area before it was acquired by a private equity firm in 2019.

SYNNEX had $24.68 billion in revenue in 2020 and competes for many of the customers Tech Data targets. The companies combined will boast annual revenue of $57 billion, with more than 22,000 employees, according to a press release.

A bold new path

In a Monday earnings call, the heads of both companies said the merger was transformative and will bring together the firms’ best qualities to boost financial and geographical strength. Tech Data CEO Rich Hume, who will stay on and lead the combined company as CEO, said that combining the businesses accelerated the momentum already achieved.

SYNNEX President and CEO, Dennis Polk, will become the executive chair of the board of directors, which will see him be active in strategic and integration projects, among other responsibilities.

Combined, the companies’ global footprint will span more than 100 countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific.

What owns what?

The terms of the deal state that the New York-based private equity group, Apollo Global Management, will own 45% of the combined shares. SYNNEX will have 55%.

Apollo will have a total of 44 million shares of SYNNEX common stock, in addition to the refinancing of existing Tech Data net debt and redeemable preferred shares totaling $2.7 billion.

Apollo Global Management’s senior partner Matt Nord, states that when they acquired Tech Data, they saw the potential for growth and the ability to produce value long term.

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