Commercial Integrator October 2021 - 6

CI NEWS IN BRIEF RECENT STORIES PEOPLE AND PLACES WHAT'S NEW
Emerald Announces
Alliance with AV-iQ
EMERALD HOLDING, INC.
announced an alliance with AViQ,
a leading product database
and integrator service provider
in the Commercial AV Space.
For more than 20 years,
AV-iQ has provided a central
database to serve the commercial
AV community with a
platform for integrators and
end users to research, plan and
connect with AV brands and
their channel partners.
This alliance further expands
Emerald's commitment to
the AV Market, adding a new
resource to the current portfolio
that includes Commercial
Integrator, TechDecisions, CE
Pro, Designwell, CEDIA and
Total Tech Summit.
As part of this alliance, a
residentially focused version of
AV-iQ will be launched in January
2022. The combined resources,
databases and content
will provide for an unmatched
resource within the AV industry
in both the commercial and
residential spaces.
" This was a perfect match.
Mark and his team have a
premier platform that brings
high level product data that
will complement the content
& events we deliver, " says Ray
Lyons, VP & Publisher of Emerald's
Connected Brands Group.
" Our ability to partner and
provide access to these combined
resources across multiple
markets will offer great value
to our audiences and our partners.
I am especially excited to
launch the residential version in
January, " he says.
From a single portal, www.
av-iq.com, users can find
everything they need - from
detailed product information
to news, videos, case studies
and now webinars and training
content. Registered users of
AV-iQ enjoy a common format
that allows for detailed product
comparison and project list creation
to inform their decisions.
From this central database,
AV-iQ has been able to create
custom catalogs and provide
data feeds to integrators across
the industry, so their customers
and teams have access to
Tech Data and Synnex Complete Merger
SYNNEX AND TECH DATA Corporation have completed their
merger, and the combined company is now known as TD Synnex.
According to a joint press release, former Tech Data's CEO Rich
Hume will retain the position and lead the combined organization,
while former Synnex CERO Dennis Polk will be executive chair of
the TD Synnex Board of Directors.
The companies first announced the merger in March, saying the
combined firm will operate in more than 100 countries and serve
150,000 customers, offering more than 200,000 products and
solutions from more than 1,500 vendors.
Synnex acquired Tech Data from New York private equity firm
Apollo Global Management Inc., which bought the Clearwater,
Fla.-based company for about $6 billion last year.
According to the press release, Tech Data Corp. was previously
wholly owned by Apollo Global Management, which received 33
million shares of common stock for about $1.1 billion in cash after
giving effect to a $500 million equity contribution by Apollo and
the refinancing of Tech Data net debt.
Now, Apollo Global Management owns about 45% of TD Synnex,
according to the announcement.
" We are pleased to have completed the merger and are focused
on integrating our businesses, " said Dennis Polk, TD SYNNEX
Executive Chair of the Board of Directors. " We are energized by the
6
Commercial Integrator OCTOBER 2021
preferred brands directly on the
integrator's own website.
" AV-iQ has been slowly
growing it's offering of Residential
focused AV product
information over the last few
years and this partnership will
accelerate that growth tremendously, "
says Mark Loftus,
owner of AV-iQ.
" Growing our database
to provide efficient product
research and connecting users
to brands and integrators has
been a mission of AV-iQ all
along, and together with these
Emerald brands we can make
our platform a destination that
is top of mind for all professionals
across Commercial and
Residential AV, " he says.
enhanced breadth and depth of our offerings and the opportunities
ahead of us to deliver superior value to our stakeholders. "
As part of the merger, Hume underscored TD SYNNEX' commitment
to be a good corporate citizen and the employer of choice in
the global IT industry.
" Just as TD SYNNEX plays a vital role helping transform the
technology landscape, we have an equally important responsibility
to have a positive impact on the world. Our focus on corporate
social responsibility embodies our commitment to make the world
a better place, both today and into the future. "
commercialintegrator.com
http://www.av-iq.com http://www.commercialintegrator.com
Commercial Integrator October 2021

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