Ingram Micro (IM) To Be Acquired By China's HNA Group For $6B

American electronics distributor Ingram Micro announced Wednesday that it has agreed to be acquired for approximately $6 billion by a unit of the Chinese conglomerate HNA group. The acquisition is the latest in a string of high-profile takeovers of foreign companies by Chinese entities in recent months.

Under the deal, HNA’s Tianjin Tianhai Investment Company will acquire Ingram Micro for $38.90 per share in an all-cash transaction. On Wednesday, Ingram’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange closed up 0.78 percent at $29.65, but surged over 23 percent to $36.53 in after-hours trading.

California-based Ingram, founded in 1979, is one of the largest distributors of personal computers and other technology products including printers, scanners, Televisions, videogame consoles, video monitors and software. HNA group, meanwhile, was founded in 2000 as a marine shipping company, but has since diversified its operations to include transportation, logistics, tourism, banking and insurance.

The company is also part owner of Hainan Airlines — China’s fourth-largest airline.

“After the transaction, Ingram Micro would become the largest member enterprise of HNA Group in terms of revenue, and facilitate the internationalization process of the group,” HNA Group CEO Adam Tan said, in a statement. “With the help of Ingram Micro, HNA Group would have access to business opportunities in emerging markets, which have higher growth rates and better profitability.”

Over the past year, as China’s weakening economic growth threatens to impact domestic profits, many Chinese companies have sought better investment opportunities abroad. According to some estimates, Chinese firms closed overseas deals worth $61 billion last year — up 16 percent from 2014.

The announcement of the latest deal comes just weeks after China’s state-owned ChemChina agreed buy Swiss agricultural giant Sygenta for almost $44 billion. The deal would transform ChemChina into the world’s biggest supplier of pesticides and agrochemicals and mark the largest outbound deal in China’s history.