After a month of reports and speculations, private equity firm Apollo Global Management announced Wednesday morning that it has a deal in place to acquire distributor Tech Data.

Tech Data announced that its board has accepted a deal that would see it acquired for $130 per share, place the deal at about $5.4 billion (U.S.). The deal will take Tech Data private.

In a statement, the distributor said its board of directors has unanimously accepted the offer, which is expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to regulatory approval. Tech Data says it will be permitted to solicit better offers during a “go-shop” period from now until December 9.

After the deal closes, the companies said Tech Data will become a private company, will continue to be headquartered in Clearwater, Fla., and Rich Hume will continue as the company’s chief executive.

Reuters first reported last month that Apollo Global was interested in Tech Data, putting the offer price at “close to $5 billion,” an offer that was obviously sweetened a bit over the ensuing weeks. It marks the second time in just over a year that Apollo Global has shown significant interest in a technology distributor, as the Reuters article refers to an unsuccessful bid last year to grab Ingram Micro from HNA Group. 

For Tech Data, the deal means access to more resources, CEO Hume said in a statement announcing the deal

“This investment by funds managed by one of the world’s leading global alternative investment managers will afford us additional resources to accelerate our ability to bring to market the technology products and solutions the world needs to connect, grow and advance,” Hume said. “The transaction will enable us to build on our success, making Tech Data a growth platform and enabling us to further differentiate and expand our end-to-end solutions and provide our channel partners with unparalleled reach, efficiency and expertise.”

Matt Nord, a co-lead partner at Apollo, echoed Hume’s comments on the deal providing Tech Data with more resources, saying his firm was “committed to expanding Tech Data’s position as a trusted partner to the world’s leading technology vendors while providing best-in-class customer service.”

“As a private company with our sponsorship and a strong balance sheet, Tech Data will have significant financial and strategic flexibility to drive growth going forward,” Nord said in the statement.