(Wilfredo Lee/AP/File)
Home Depot Inc. has made an offer for GMS Inc., potentially setting off a bidding war with QXO Inc. which this week made a $5 billion offer for the building products distributor, the Wall Street Journal reported June 19.
The offer from Home Depot, the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, is for an undetermined sum, the Journal said, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Home Depot ranks No. 50 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private companies in North America.
QXO is a building products company run by veteran dealmaker Brad Jacobs, who is executive chairman of XPO and non-executive chairman of RXO and GXO Logistics.
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Shares of GMS rose as much as 32% in premarket trading on June 20. If premarket gains hold, the stock will be set for its biggest rise on record. QXO stock rose 2.2% in premarket trading while Home Depot fell 0.3%.
Jacobs
The offer comes as QXO is proposing to buy Tucker, Ga.-based GMS for $95.20 per share in cash, according to a statement June 18. GMS confirmed it received the unsolicited proposal from QXO, and said its board will evaluate the offer. GMS closed June 18 at $81.01 per share and finished last week at $76.03.
Both Home Depot and QXO are seeking to expand their share of the market for construction supplies and tools, betting a bigger entity with better technology can win business from more contractors, the Journal said.
Representatives for all three companies declined to comment.
