The announcement helped boost Ingram Micro’s newly launched shares on the New York Stock Exchange. | Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
Major ITAD firm Ingram Micro has reached a strategic distribution agreement to extend 1Password’s identity security offerings to North American business customers.
“By combining Ingram Micro’s sales and technical resources with 1Password’s identity security solutions, businesses can extend access management beyond traditional tools, securing unmanaged apps and devices in today’s complex IT environments,” 1Password wrote in a Nov. 21 press release.
1Password keeps logins and other sensitive information secure, and “hybrid work is redefining the traditional perimeter that businesses need to defend,” the company posted on its blog. The alliance enables both companies to “help more businesses adapt to this changing world and secure every sign-in for every app on every device.”
Lori Cornmesser, vice president of channel sales and alliances at 1Password, said in the release that businesses experience an “access-trust gap” — the security risks posed by unmanaged devices and applications accessing company data without proper governance controls.
“Working with Ingram Micro will accelerate our go-to-market strategy and enable more businesses to access 1Password Extended Access Management so they can close that gap,” Cornmesser said. “With Ingram Micro’s proven security expertise and expansive market reach, this agreement expedites our expansion in North America and empowers our mutual channel partners to secure their customers’ access points with greater confidence.”
Newly launched Ingram Micro shares respond
Shares of Ingram Micro, newly listed as INGM on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at $22.00 on Nov. 22, the day after the announcement, higher by 53 cents on the day. Traded volumes more than doubled on the day as well, from 226,200 to 486,700.
The first day of trading for INGM was Oct. 24, when the share price opened the day at $25.28 and 7.748 million shares traded throughout the day.
In mid-October, two weeks after announcing its intent, Ingram launched an initial public offering of 18.6 million shares of stock, with a share price of $22.00 and a closing date of Oct. 25. The company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to repay some of its debt under its term loan credit facility.
Two years ago, Ingram Micro had announced similar plans but later abandoned them.
Until 2016, Ingram Micro was a publicly traded company. That year Chinese conglomerate HNA Group acquired the company and took it off the NYSE. In 2021, Platinum Equity acquired Ingram Micro.
In the company’s quarterly earnings release Nov. 12, CEO Paul Bay said, “We are grateful to our associates, partners and customers who supported our return to the public markets in October, building upon our 45-year legacy of powering the world’s leading technology brands.”
Ingram Micro reported Q3 net sales of $11.8 billion, lower by 1.4% on the year, citing lower net sales in North America and Latin America that were partially offset by growth in Asia-Pacific sales.
“The third-quarter results reflect the success of our focus while we were private, including our increased geographic reach, expanded product and service offerings and shift towards Advanced Solutions and Cloud offering products,” said Chief Financial Officer Mike Zilis. “Going forward, we are focused on the quality of our net sales as we continue our track record of profitable growth and investment in our highly differentiated Xvantage platform.”