After nearly a century in business — and months of often-contentious negotiations — building materials distributor Beacon will be acquired by newly formed company QXO in a deal worth about $11 billion, company officials announced Thursday.
QXO, established last year by former XPO head Brad Jacobs and other backers, originally sought to buy Beacon in November after an initial bid for Rexel was rejected. Beacon’s board rejected that offer and another in January before QXO launched a tender offer and a hostile takeover bid.
Last week, however, the companies said in a joint statement that they had entered talks “about a potential combination.”
Under the agreement announced Thursday, QXO would acquire Beacon and its outstanding debt for $124.35 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to close by the end of April, subject to a majority of Beacon shares tendering in the current offer and other closing conditions. The tender offer will again be extended through the end of the month, and QXO said the deal has already been cleared by antitrust regulators in the U.S. and Canada.
Beacon officials had maintained for months that QXO’s $11 billion offers “significantly” undervalued the company and its future prospects, but Beacon Chairman Stuart Randle said in a statement that after evaluating “strategic alternatives” since the initial offer in November, a “comprehensive review” led to the conclusion that the deal “is in the best interests of Beacon and its shareholders given the immediate premium and certainty of value in cash it offers, particularly in an uncertain environment.”
“We have a highly differentiated business with multiple paths to success, margin expansion and value creation, and thanks to the incredible talent and dedication of our employees, I know Beacon has a bright future ahead,” added Beacon President and CEO Julian Francis.
QXO, meanwhile, anticipates Beacon to be the first of “many” acquisitions for the company. A spokesman noted that the company has set a goal of $50 billion in revenue.
Beacon posted net sales of $9.76 billion in 2024.
“Acquiring Beacon is a key milestone in our plan to create substantial shareholder value and establish QXO as a leader in the $800 billion building products distribution industry,” Jacobs said in the announcement. “We will be applying our proven playbook to a platform ripe to deliver above-market organic growth and significant margin expansion.”
