Take a moment to place yourself in this board’s shoes. The company has…

Kimberly Simpson

• An enviable revenue stream, with approximately $120 million in sales per day and an average sales order of $2,000;
• A strong balance sheet with very little debt;
• A need to react to seismic shifts in customer needs;
• An overweight of assets in Europe while sizable growth for your industry has been predicted in Asia; and
• A market cap of roughly $2.6 billion.

What would your board do?

Would your board be comfortable acquiring a division of a competitor for $2.4 billion in cash and 2.785 million shares of your company’s common stock, representing an approximate seven percent ownership position?

In a “bet the market cap” move, Tech Data Corp. took these actions, acquiring Avnet’s Technology Solutions business in 2017. Technology Solutions partners with more than 40 of the world’s top information technology (IT) vendors to address the IT business needs of 20,000 customers in more than 80 countries, including the Asia Pacific region (a new market for Tech Data). This acquisition makes Tech Data the largest public company headquartered in Florida by revenue, and is expected to catapult the company to a position among the forthcoming 2017 Fortune 100.

David Walker, director of NACD’s Florida Chapter as well as Chico’s FAS, CoreLogic and CommVault Systems, moderated a conversation featuring Robert M. Dutkowsky, Tech Data CEO and incoming chair; Steven A. Raymund, retiring Tech Data chair; and Charles “Eddie” Adair, chair of the board’s Transaction Committee. The panelists discussed the acquisition at a recent NACD Florida Chapter event held at Tech Data headquarters in Clearwater, Florida.

The Importance of Strategic Planning

At the urging of the Tech Data board, Dutkowsky and the management team undertook a significant strategic planning process two years prior to the acquisition. Called “TDNext,” the project was an iterative one, with the board pushing back several times before a final plan was achieved. The board’s strategic planning process revealed a customer demand to accelerate growth in the “third platform.”

The third platform refers to the ability to leverage the cloud, mobility, big data, and other next-generation technologies for business, as businesses move beyond the first two platforms, mainframes, and client servers. The company recognized that Technology Solutions, which delivers technology services, software, hardware, and solutions across the data center, would be complementary to Tech Data’s diversified portfolio of offerings in moving customers to the third platform. Also, the plan’s revelation that Tech Data was overweighted in Europe was validated the day that Brexit was announced and the company’s stock dropped significantly.

M&A Experience and Unexpected Bumps

A perfect alignment occurred at Tech Data to move the acquisition forward. The management team was ready, and the balance sheet supported the deal. The highly experienced board had guided multiple acquisitions at the company and elsewhere; the culture of the board was one of trust with each other and with management; and a transaction committee comprised of three committee chairs, led by Adair, acted as a consultancy and cheerleader for management during the negotiations.

One unexpected bump did occur during the acquisition process. Rick Hamada, chief executive officer of Avnet, abruptly departed as the agreement was nearing completion. With Hamada as the primary point of contact for the deal until that time, Dutkowsky had to find common ground with a new CEO during final negotiations.

Integration, Integration, Integration

Despite the alignment of board and CEO at Tech Data, the road to a successful deal still lies ahead as Tech Data integrates Technology Solutions. According to Raymund, the board now wants to hear about execution, not strategy, for the next several months.

For his part, Dutkowsky praises the relationship he has with his board, saying he can always discuss challenges and hurdles without worrying about finger pointing. That said, when it comes to the work ahead, he adds, “Either I will hit the board’s objectives, or somebody else will…. And I’m fine with that.”

NACD Florida would like to thank the team at Tech Data for hosting the program and the panelists for sharing their experiences with attendees.

Kimberly Simpson is an NACD regional director, providing strategic support to NACD chapters in the Capital Area, Atlanta, Florida, the Carolinas, North Texas and the Research Triangle. Simpson, a former general counsel, was a U.S. Marshall Memorial Fellow to Europe in 2005.