Moody’s expects COVID-19 to hamper Tech Data performance
June 17, 2020 - Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to hamper operating performance at Tech Data, a new report from Moody's Investors Service said. The credit agency said in a June 15 report that it expects total revenue to decline and margins to shrink at the Clearwater-based IT distributor over the next 12 months. Tech Data is positioned to return to revenue growth when overall IT demand rebounds based on its leading position in the industry and its global reach, the report said. Tech Data (Nasdaq: TECD), currently the largest publicly traded company headquartered in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, is being acquired by funds managed by Apollo Global Management and will become privately owned after the deal closes. In the new report, Moody's assigned a Ba2 corporate family rating and a Ba3 probability of default rating to Tech Data, in conjunction with the debt the company is taking on to help fund the $6.1 billion purchase by Apollo. Both ratings are just under investment grade ratings.