Ingram Micro

Ingram Micro Inc.’s initial public offering of stock last year was a bit of an anomaly in the high-tech industry because, unlike most of its recent IPO counterparts, Ingram has a long and distinguished track record.

The Santa Ana-based firm is the largest distributor of computer products in the world and was well on its way to $12 billion in 1996 sales when it went public in November.

Ingram raised $360 million in its IPO, by far the largest in the state last year, even though longtime Chief Executive Linwood A. “Chip” Lacy had resigned unexpectedly just months before the offering.

Barely missing a beat, the company hired former AT&T; Corp. executive Jerre Stead, who declined a salary and opted for a compensation package built entirely on stock options.

The money raised through the IPO represents just a fraction of the firm’s total market capitalization, which is the 10th-largest in the state. Aside from the 23 million Class A shares sold in the offering, there are 109 million Class B shares of stock, mostly owned by members of the Nashville-based Ingram family.

Those Class B shares can be sold and converted to Class A shares, beginning two years from the date of the offering. All of the shares will be converted to Class A after five years.

The Class A shares have been trading at about $24 on the New York Stock Exchange recently. The IPO price was $18.