Arrow acquires Distribution Central

Arrow Electronics has acquired Distribution Central for an undisclosed sum.

The deal sees the Sydney-headquartered distributor snapped up by one of the largest disties in the world, an NYSE-listed entity with a portfolio spanning commercial IT and components. 

It marks a far larger deal than Arrow's first foray into Australia, when the company acquired security-focused Observatory Crest in October 2014.

Sean Kerins, president of Arrow’s global enterprise computing solutions business, said: “The addition of Distribution Central to our presence in the region expands and strengthens Arrow’s business in the value-added distribution marketplace.

"This acquisition supports our strategy to expand Arrow’s portfolio and build strategic capabilities to help meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

The Distribution Central deal comes just weeks after the Australian distie was revealed as a major winner out of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's distribution tender, adding the HPE range to its existing portfolio of Aruba networking solutions. Managing director Nick Verykios expected to add $200 million to the company's top line.

“The combination of Distribution Central and our capabilities from the earlier Observatory Crest acquisition makes Arrow the leading value-added distributor in the region,” said Kerins.

The leaders of Distribution Central are no strangers to M&A: non-executive chairman Scott Frew founded LAN Systems, which was sold to global giant Westcon in 2000. He then went on to establish Distribution Central with Nick Verykios, who is now managing director.

Distribution Central has been in fast-growth model, having last year cracked the $300 million revenue mark after 11 years in operation.

The deal marks the largest local M&A move in a period of intense consolidation in the Australian and international channel. Ingram Micro revealed an acquisition by China's HNA Group for US$6 billion last month, while Ingram itself had only recently snapped up Australian distributor Connector Systems.