Platinum Equity’s Ingram Micro makes US IPO filing public by Reuters

(Reuters) -Ingram Micro made public its U.S. IPO filing on Monday, more than two years after the private equity-backed electronics distributor laid the groundwork for its return to the stock markets.

Expectations of more monetary policy easing and pressure to return capital to investors are encouraging PE firms to list their portfolio companies.

Beverly Hills, California-based Platinum Equity acquired Ingram in 2021 from a unit of Chinese aviation and shipping conglomerate HNA Group in a $7.2 billion deal.

The company and certain of its existing shareholders will sell shares in the proposed offering.

Founded in 1979, Ingram partners with technology manufacturers and cloud providers to bring their products to market through the Ingram Micro Xvantage digital platform.

The company, which also provides companies with a portfolio of technology offerings and supply chain services, reported a 5.5% decline in net sales to $48 billion in 2023 due to the sale of its commerce and lifecycle services (CLS ) activities.

Ingram sold the unit to French shipping company CMA CGM Group in April 2022 in a $3 billion deal.

The company’s net profit shrank to $352.7 million in 2023 from $2.39 billion a year earlier. Ingram had posted a $2.28 billion profit on CLS sales in 2022.

Ingram laid the groundwork for its return to the stock markets when it confidentially filed for a US IPO in September 2022.

Proceeds from the IPO will be used primarily to pay down debt.

Ingram plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “INGM.”

The offering is underwritten by more than a dozen Wall Street banks, led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Securities.