Arrow Buys Converge, Verical

Arrow ERlectronics has completed two acquisitions in the last two days.

It bought Converge, which provides reverse logistics services, and Verical, an e-commerce marketplace geared toward meeting the end-of-life components and parts shortage needs of customers.

"These acquisitions complement Arrow's global strategy by providing comprehensive services across the entire product lifecycle for suppliers and customers," said Michael J. Long, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Arrow Electronics. "Reverse logistics is a rapidly growing area, and this acquisition builds on Arrow's global capabilities as a supply chain and logistics expert. The addition of Verical also further strengthens our ecommerce capabilities."

 

Converge, with 350 employees, is headquartered in Peabody , Mass. , with offices in Singapore and Amsterdam , including support centres throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Verical is based in San Francisco .

 

Converge has an interesting history. It was originally established in May 2000 by 15 of the top OEMS, contract manufacturers, component manufacturers and distributors including Hewlett-Packard, AMD, Solectron and Compaq (remember them?!) They wanted to bring more efficiency to their supply chain using internet technology. The original name of the company was eHitex, it changed to Converge in late 2000 when it bought NECx, a trading exchange for buyer and sellers of components.