Arrow Electronics to buy Converge in bid to expand reverse logistics footprint

Electronics giant Arrow Electronics Inc. will acquire reverse logistics provider Converge in a move to expand its presence in an operational specialty critical to the electronics industry.

Melville, N.Y.-based Arrow also announced it acquired Verical Inc., an e-commerce pOréal that helps companies manage parts shortages by giving them a way to locate and buy components they need.

Arrow said it has completed the Verical transaction. Its purchase of Converge is expected to close by the end of May. Arrow would not disclose terms of either transaction other than to say it would add 5 to 10 cents per share to its annual earnings. Both deals were announced in early April.

Converge, based in Peabody, Mass., has offices in Singapore and Amsterdam, and support centers in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Verical is based in San Francisco.

Ben Gordon, head of BG Strategic Advisors, a Palm Beach, Fla.-based mergers and acquisitions firm that handled the transaction, said that based on publicly available data, he believes the Arrow-Converge deal is the biggest so far in the logistics mergers and acquisitions category. Gordon says Arrow will leverage Converge's capabilities to expand its reverse logistics business.

Gordon said he doesn't expect Converge to lose any clients as a result of the acquisition.

The purchases "complement Arrow's global strategy by providing comprehensive services across the entire product lifecycle for suppliers and customers," Michael J. Long, Arrow's chairman, president, and CEO, said in a statement. "Reverse logistics is a rapidly growing area, and this acquisition builds on Arrow's global capabilities as a supply chain and logistics expert." An Arrow spokesman did not return a phone call seeking further comment.