SYNNEX Corporation [1] (NYSE: SNX) and Tech Data [2] have announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which SYNNEX and Tech Data will combine in a transaction valued at approximately USD 7.2 billion, including net debt. The combined company, with approximately USD 57 billion in estimated pro forma annual revenues and a team of over 22,000 associates and colleagues, will provide customers and vendors with expansive reach across products, services, and geographies to accelerate technology adoption.
Dennis Polk, SYNNEX President and CEO said “We are excited to partner with a world-class industry leader like Tech Data and believe that this combination will benefit all our stakeholders. This transaction allows for accelerated revenue and earnings growth, an expanded global footprint, and the ability to drive significant operating improvements while continuing to create shareholder value. We look forward to working with the talented colleagues at Tech Data and expect our combined business will create the opportunity for team members to produce the highest levels of service to our partners.”
Rich Hume, Tech Data CEO was quoted as saying “This is transformational for Tech Data, SYNNEX and the entire technology ecosystem. Together, we will be able to offer our customers and vendors exceptional reach, efficiency, and expertise, redefining the experience and value they receive. The combined company will also benefit from significant financial strength to invest in its core growth platform as well as next generation cybersecurity, cloud, data, and IoT technologies, which are experiencing explosive growth due to work from home and return to office trends. We could not have reached this milestone without the hard work of our colleagues, and we look forward to working together with the SYNNEX team to seamlessly bring our companies together and to create meaningful value for all our stakeholders.”
Tech Data currently is wholly owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. [3] (NYSE: APO) (the “Apollo Funds”) and their co-investors.
Apollo Senior Partner and Co-Head of Private Equity Matt Nord and Apollo Partner Robert Kalsow-Ramos said, “When we acquired Tech Data, we saw the tremendous potential for transformative growth and long-term value creation. This transaction will accelerate the momentum that was already underway by uniting two outstanding companies for greater scale and financial strength to lead the industry. We are excited to remain a part of the new company’s continued success.”
Compelling Strategic Benefits
- Creates a diversified global solutions aggregator with significant breadth and depth of capabilities. The combined company will have a global footprint that serves more than 100 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions, and a broad, diversified portfolio of more than 200,000 product and solutions offerings. This meaningful scale will provide increased value and purchasing efficiencies to the combined company’s 150,000 customers and more than 1,500 vendors and enable it to accelerate technology adoption and attract the world’s most innovative OEMs.
- Capitalizes on premier core growth platforms and establishes best-in-class product offerings in next generation, high-growth areas. The transaction combines each company’s core growth platforms to establish a differentiated end-to-end solutions portfolio and best-in-class product offerings in some of the largest, highest growth product segments including cloud, data centers, security, Internet of Things (IoT), services, 5G, and intelligent edge. The companies’ highly complementary product line cards and global distribution platform provide diversified revenue streams and cross selling opportunities, including the ability to bring a comprehensive everything-as-a-service (EaaS) offerings to the market.
- Brings together companies with complementary cultures and a commitment to being an employer of choice in the global IT industry. Both SYNNEX and Tech Data have corporate cultures centered on innovation, agility, and customer service. These shared principles, as well as the expertise and talent from both organizations, will support a smooth integration following the close of the transaction.
Key Transaction Details
- Under the terms of the agreement, Apollo Funds will receive an aggregate of 44 million shares of SYNNEX common stock plus the refinancing of existing Tech Data net debt and redeemable preferred shares of approximately $2.7 billion.
- Upon closing of the transaction, SYNNEX shareholders will own approximately 55% of the combined entity, with Apollo Funds owning approximately 45%.
- Rich Hume will lead the combined company as CEO. Dennis Polk will be Executive Chair of the Board of Directors and will take an active role in the ongoing strategy and integration of the business, among other responsibilities.
- The combined company will have an eleven-member board, including Hume, with six individuals appointed by SYNNEX and with Apollo Funds to have Board designation rights based on ownership, initially including four total directors, two of whom will be independent.
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS accretion of more than 25% is expected in year one post close, with further accretion expected in year two.
- Net optimization and synergy benefits of $100 million are expected in the first year after closing, achieving a minimum of $200 million by the end of the second year.
- The combined company will benefit from a strong financial foundation and an investment grade profile. Based on LTM pro-forma adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.5 billion and expected combined debt of approximately $4.0 billion at close, debt-to-adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately 2.7x at transaction close and is expected to decline to approximately 2x within 12 months.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar year 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by SYNNEX stockholders and regulatory approvals.
MiTAC Holdings Corporation and its affiliates, which collectively owned approximately 17% of SYNNEX shares as of January 22, 2021, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction. Until the transaction is completed, the companies will continue to operate independently.
Apollo is a leading global investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo, among others. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $455 billion as of December 31, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds.