Ingram shareholders green-light Chinese takeover

$126m in potential payouts for executives also approved in special stockholder meeting

Ingram Micro has moved one step closer to Chinese ownership after its shareholders gave its takeover by Tianjin Tianhai the green light.

At a special meeting of stockholders yesterday, 99.8 per cent of Ingram's shareholders gave their blessing to the $6bn (£4.1bn) deal, which will see the $43bn-revenue giant become part of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group.

Only 0.2 per cent of voters were against the deal or abstained.

Another hurdle was cleared on 2 June when Ingram received notice from the US Federal Trade Commission that it had granted early termination of the 30-day waiting period under the 'Hart-Scott-Rodino' Antitrust Improvements Act with respect to the merger.

The union, announced in February, still needs the blessing of the Chinese government and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, as well as approval from various territories including the EU, Canada and Switzerland.

Also at the meeting, 92.9 per cent of Ingram shareholders also approved a $126m total potential pay pot which 15 Ingram executive officers and directors will bag in the event of the deal closing.

These bigwigs own $39.6m worth of Ingram shares, representing 0.7 per cent of the New York-listed distributor's outstanding capital. On top of this, they will also net a potential $28.4m and $57.9m in vested and unvested equity awards, respectively, as laid out in a document filed with the SEC on 28 April.

The potential pay pot of chief executive Alain Monié alone stands at $52.1m - $8.8m in shares and $12.7m and $30.6m in vested and unvested equity awards, respectively.

Ingram expects the merger to close in the second half of 2016. The distributor said in a filing on 2 June that it believed a stockholder class action suit filed in March, asserting that the deal fails to maximise stockholder value, was "without merit", despite the plaintiff refiling the lawsuit on 25 May.