WPG Holdings: Saving the Industry

This case recounts the story of Taiwan's electronic component distributors of the early 2000s, which innovatively pursued horizontal consolidation amid unprofitability and an ailing industry climate due to vicious competition. As a result, these companies had to address enormous challenges in effectively managing a post-merger organization. Specifically, it explains the background of the strategic marriage between WPI Group, Taiwan's leading electronic components distributor, and SAC, the third-largest player in the same industry. They joined hands under the umbrella of a holding company WPG Holdings through a share swap deal. The new firm was the result of an innovative industrial holding model formed from the alliance and set a precedent for the regional industry. For WPG's inaugural Chairman Simon Huang, managing such a complex organization would be one of the biggest challenges of his career.