Size doesn't matter

Ingram Micro deal with Chinese conglomorate proves there is no such thing as being too big for acquisition

Just when I thought the Dell/EMC deal was the most significant acquisition I'd seen for a while, Ingram Micro goes and shocks us all by being bought by Chinese giant HNA Group.

Of course the numbers are different - Dell paid $67bn and HNA paid around $6bn, but the significance of the deal is definitely not worth less in terms of significance to our industry.

Of course consolidation is not a new thing in the channel, particularly distribution, but I admit, I always felt that the 'big four' would only ever be the ones doing the acquiring, not actually being acquired.

After all the saying is "Get big, get niche or get out", right?

Shows how wrong you can be. Big is never big enough and everyone is for sale for the right price.

Naturally with all these things it is not necessarily a done deal, China's aggressive overseas acquisition strategy does not always pan out, so there is a chance that it still may not go ahead, but it is looking more likely than not.

It is an interesting development because the trust factor between the US and China has been pretty challenged, you only have to recall the problems Huawei has had cracking the US market over recent years.

How is this going to change Ingram's behaviour in the years to come? How will the working culture of a Chinese firm fit with the culture that Ingram has created? Will the management teams stay on long-term and really just carry on with business as usual?

Obviously it is way too early to tell - but I am going to look forward to speaking to the industry and finding out what everyone thinks and of course hearing from Ingram itself on what difference, if any, this will make to its business.

Rest assured there will be a lot more to come on Channelweb over this issue in the coming days and weeks, and I really would welcome your comments and feedback on this most significant deal.

After this news, I wonder who will be next?