And this even transcends itself into our PC ecosystem business where theres a requirement and
initiative thats growing around Technology as a Service, aggregating PC ecosystem content, and providing per-month pricing for that aggregated content. So I think that from my point of view the
traditional IT distribution remains a major participant within our ecosystem. However, we at Tech Data are transitioning our value proposition more towards solutions aggregation.
How does private equity help execute on those goals?
Obviously, in a public company you have thousands of investors and they have an expectation in terms of what youre going to do on a 90-day period, four times a year. As it relates to engaging with the private equity owner, you can have a longer-term view of what you want to accomplish and not get distracted by perhaps the requirements of a
quarterly earnings call.
The second thing to make note of, and this is really important, is that Apollo has over $320 billion worth of assets under
management. They have the ability to invest organically as well as acquisitively in Tech Data. So this is a scenario where we have the fortune of potentially being acquired by someone who has the opportunity to really accelerate our business moving
forward.
If youre a partner on the ground level, so to speak, how does this benefit those folks?
Again, I think that when we take a look at the investment potential of Apollo, should we, or myself as management, be able to bring forward compelling business
proposals to them and they invest, that would mean that our capabilities, as well as our portfolio for our customers, will even be more leadership than they are today.
Were very proud of the end-to-end portfolio and capabilities that we
have. But certainly we have the opportunity to even advance those, especially in the areas of next-generation technologies.
Does this give you the
opportunity to go after the partners of rival distributors?
Every day we compete with one another in the market. We like the merits of our strategy
that will allow us to compete with our competitors in the market. We have the opportunity to accelerate investment in our business with a new investor that will make us, in my mind, more competitive over time and more attractive to the market at
large.
Theres always a fear that private equity is in it for the short haul, or to make a short gain. Is that the case with Apollo?
When you look at Apollo, theyre absolutely interested in taking Tech Data where it is today and allowing it to continue to be leadership and an even a
bigger powerhouse within the market. We, as a management team, find the way they run and manage their portfolio very attractive and we know that its going to be a great opportunity for us moving forward. This is a deal that is very, very
attractive for our shareholders. Its very attractive for partners and vendors because I truly believe it will allow us to accelerate our future. Its also very attractive for my Tech Data colleagues because this is a situation where we
take our company as it is, and then advance it into the future.
Unlike a strategic acquisition where youre smashing together two companies and, for
a period of time, theres some uncertaintywe arent in that mode. Were in the mode of maintaining our company and accelerating our future.
Any closing thoughts on this deal?
Next week Tech Data
will be 45 years old in our industry. Weve gone from, you know, basically the garage to being a $37 billion business in that time frame. We have great partnerships within the vendor community as well as with all of our customers and I am
confident that as we move forward we will be enriching the relationships even further beyond what we have today, based on turning the page, and moving to the next chapter in the journey. So Im extremely excited about our future, not only as a
company, but our future with the relationships that weve built over those 45 years.