Beacon Roofing Supply: An $11 Billion Deal Devalues 'Undervalued' Defense

Summary

• Beacon Roofing Supply has agreed to be acquired by building products distributor QXO for about $11 billion, including debt.
• QXO approached Beacon privately in November with an all-cash bid of $124.25 a share, before going public in January with a tender offer at the same price and attempting to install 10 directors on Beacon’s board.
• Beacon said on March 10 it had entered discussions with QXO after it increased its bid by 10 cents a share, which became the final agreed price.

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By Breakingviews

Semantic satiation is the technical term for what happens when a word or phrase loses its meaning from overuse. In the world of M&A, takeover targets shout “undervalued” in response to unwelcome acquisition offers so often that