Ingram’s $6bn Chinese takeaway gets key US approval

Antony Savvas (a_savvas@yahoo.co.uk),
AcquisitionsDistribution

Global distributor maintains the deal is still set for completion some time this year after final approvals

Ingram Micro has received US clearance for its pending acquisition by China’s Tianjin Tianhai Investment Company.

Both parties have received clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to proceed with the transaction, which had been delayed by CFIUS extended intervention.

ChinaThe two companies also said that they have received clearance from the anti-trust authorities in Austria, Italy, Poland and Slovakia. But the US clearance is the most important one as far as the $6 billion deal is concerned.

In the past, CFIUS has prevented Chinese companies from buying key US technology companies, sometimes on national security grounds.

The “merger” remains subject to approval from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and other closing conditions. But the two companies continue to expect the transaction to “close in 2016”, whereby Ingram Micro will become part of HNA Group.

HNA is a leader in aviation, tourism and logistics, and the largest stockholder of acquisition vehicle Tianjin Tianhai.

@AntonySavvas