U.S. private equity firm Platinum Equity said on Wednesday it would buy electronics distributor Ingram Micro Inc from a unit of Chinese aviation and shipping conglomerate HNA Group in a USD 7.2 billion deal.
The deal comes as the once high-flying HNA Group, which owns the Hainan Airlines, sheds assets under a restructuring program to resolve liquidity risks stemming from years of aggressive acquisitions abroad.
In September, the cash-strapped group’s chairman was barred from taking flights and high-speed trains and going on vacations due to its failure to pay a court-ordered USD 5,300 in a lawsuit.
HNA acquired Ingram, which distributes products ranging from Apple Inc’s iPhones to Cisco’s network equipment, in 2016 in a USD 6 billion deal.
The sale will help HNA Technology, a listed arm of the group, to repay the principal and interest on M&A loans and related debt, as well as to reduce expenses and ease liquidity pressure, the unit said in a regulatory filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Ingram, which has 35,000 employees and operates in 60 countries, reported over USD 47 billion in annual sales for its fiscal year 2019.
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