California-based Synnex has elbowed its way into the European channel with a deal for Westcon-Comstor.
Under the deal, Synnex is taking a 10 percent stake in Westcon’s international operations only, at least initially. Synnex has reserved the right to double its stake in Westcon International to 20 percent.
It also has first refusal on making an offer to acquire it in its entirety should Datatec ever look to sell the remainder of the business.
Synnex is writing a cheque for $30 million for its 10 percent stake in the international business. This is peanuts compared to the $800 million it is paying to buy Westcon’s much smaller North and Latin American arm outright.
What it all means is that Synnex has its feet under the table for any deal involving the EMEA and APAC business in the future.
In its fiscal 2016, Synnex hit revenues of $14.06 billion, with $12.49 billion of that coming from distribution activities, and $1.59 billion coming from its BPO business. The Westcon deal will bring in another $2 billion of revenues.
Synnex is better known as Microsoft distributors in the States, and the move could herald a real threat to Ingram and Tech Data.
