Platinum Equity's Ingram Micro seeks up to $5.4 billion valuation in US IPO

(Reuters) -Ingram Micro is targeting a valuation of up to $5.42 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, the technology products distributor said on Tuesday, underscoring a resurgence in private-equity backed stock market listings.

A rally in equities and recent strong debuts by Carlyle-backed aircraft maintenance services provider StandardAero and Partners Group-backed early childhood education provider KinderCare Learning are encouraging buyout firms to list their portfolio companies.

Ingram Micro is offering 11.6 million shares, while parent Platinum Equity is selling 7 million shares priced between $20 and $23 each to raise up to $427.8 million.

The Irvine, California-based company was founded in 1979 as a small computer products distributor named Micro D. Since then, it has grown into one of the world's largest technology distributors.

It distributes products and services like smartphones and computers purchased from over 1,500 vendors, such as technology manufacturers and cloud providers, to more than 161,000 clients, including resellers and retail customers.

Ingram, with operations in 57 countries, competes with TD Synnex, ScanSource and ALSO Holding.

Products purchased from iPhone maker Apple, personal computer maker HP and networking equipment maker Cisco make up a huge chunk of the 45-year old company's net sales.

Ingram initially went public in 1996 and traded on the New York Stock Exchange until 2016, when it was acquired by Chinese aviation and shipping conglomerate HNA Group for $6 billion.

Five years later, Beverly Hills, California-based Platinum Equity acquired Ingram from HNA in a $7.2 billion deal.

In 2022, Ingram sold most of its commerce and lifecycle services business to French shipping company CMA CGM Group in a $3 billion deal.

Platinum Equity will remain the controlling shareholder after the offering with a 90.8% stake. Ingram will mainly use the IPO proceeds to repay debt.

Investment manager Capital World Investors has indicated an interest in buying Ingram shares worth up to $70 million.

Ingram will list on the NYSE under the symbol "INGM".

The offering is being underwritten by over a dozen Wall Street banks, led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)