Beacon Issues Statement in Response to QXO’s Director Nominations
Nominations Represent Apparent Attempt to Pressure Beacon’s Board into Accepting an Unchanged Offer Price That Significantly Undervalues Beacon’s Full Intrinsic Value and Prospects for Growth
Follows the Beacon Board’s Unanimous Rejection of QXO’s Unsolicited Tender Offer
No Shareholder Action Is Required at This Time
HERNDON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Beacon (Nasdaq: BECN) (the “Company”) announced today that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has received notice from QXO, Inc. (NYSE: QXO) that QXO has nominated ten individuals to stand for election to Beacon’s Board at the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting.
Beacon’s Board issued the following statement in response:
Beacon’s Board consists of ten highly qualified directors – nine of whom are independent – who have been critical in overseeing the Company’s successful execution of its Ambition 2025 plan, which generated total shareholder returns of more than 200% during the past five years1 and delivered above market growth and superior financial and operational results, including 11 straight quarters of record net sales.2
Each of our Board members brings the skills, knowledge, experience and tenure necessary to guide the Company’s strategic and operational direction, as well as a firm and demonstrated commitment to acting in the best interests of Beacon and all of its shareholders. Their expertise spans an array of industries relevant to Beacon’s continued success, including industrial manufacturing, national and international distribution, supply chain, information technology, logistics, e-commerce, strategy, marketing, brand management, cybersecurity and finance.
QXO’s director nominations appear to be an attempt to pressure Beacon’s Board into accepting an unchanged offer price that significantly undervalues Beacon’s prospects for growth and value creation, which the Board previously rejected.
The Board remains open to considering all opportunities to maximize shareholder value, and Beacon looks forward to sharing more on its future growth plans and 2028 long-term financial targets at its upcoming Investor Day on March 13, 2025.
Beacon’s Board will evaluate QXO’s director nomination notice and present its recommendations with respect to director nominations in the Company’s proxy statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) ahead of the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting. Beacon shareholders do not need to take any action at this time.
Recommended Rejection of Unsolicited Tender Offer
QXO’s nominations follow its unsolicited tender offer (the “Offer”) to acquire all outstanding shares of Beacon for $124.25 per share in cash, which remained unchanged from its November 11, 2024 proposal that was made public on January 15, 2025. On February 6, 2025, after consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, the Beacon Board issued its formal recommendation urging shareholders not to tender into the Offer, which the Board determined was not in the best interest of Beacon and its shareholders.
The Schedule 14D-9 filing and other materials related to QXO’s unsolicited offer – including full copies of Beacon’s correspondence with QXO – have been filed with the SEC and are available at www.BeaconBuildsValue.com.
J.P. Morgan is serving as financial advisor to the Company and its Board, and Lazard is serving as financial advisor to the Board. Sidley Austin LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP are serving as legal advisors to Beacon.
About Beacon
Founded in 1928, Beacon is a publicly-traded Fortune 500 company that distributes specialty building products, including roofing materials and complementary products, such as siding and waterproofing. The company operates over 580 branches throughout all 50 states in the U.S. and 7 provinces in Canada. Beacon serves an extensive base of nearly 100,000 customers, utilizing its vast branch network and service capabilities to provide high-quality products and support throughout the entire project lifecycle. Beacon offers its own private label brand, TRI-BUILT ®, and has a proprietary digital account management suite, Beacon PRO+ ®, which allows customers to manage their businesses online. Beacon’s stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol BECN. To learn more about Beacon, please visit www.becn.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to: statements related to the Company’s views and expectations regarding the Offer; any statements relating to the plans, strategies and objectives of management or the Company’s Board for future operations and activities; any statements concerning the expected development, performance, market share or competitive performance relating to products or services; any statements regarding current or future macroeconomic trends or events and the impact of those trends and events on the Company and its financial performance; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts and often use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “outlook,” “project” and other words and expressions of similar meaning. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, those set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In addition, actual results may differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statements as the result of: factors relating to the Offer, including actions taken by QXO in connection with the Offer, actions taken by the Company or its stockholders in respect of the Offer, and the effects of the Offer, or the completion or failure to complete the Offer, on the Company’s businesses, or other developments involving QXO; product shortages; changes in supplier pricing and rebates; inability to identify acquisition targets or close acquisitions; difficulty integrating acquired businesses; inability to identify new markets or successfully open new locations; catastrophic safety incidents; cyclicality and seasonality; IT failures or interruptions, including as a result of cybersecurity incidents; goodwill or intangible asset impairments; disruptions in the capital and credit markets; debt leverage; loss of key talent; labor disputes; and regulatory risks. The Company may not succeed in addressing these and other risks. Consequently, all forward-looking statements in this communication are qualified by the factors, risks and uncertainties referenced above and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this communication represent the Company’s views as of the date of this communication and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so, other than as required by federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.
Important Information for Investors and Stockholders
This communication does not constitute an offer to buy or solicitation of an offer to sell any securities. The Company has filed a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with the SEC. Any solicitation/recommendation statement filed by the Company that is required to be mailed to stockholders will be mailed to stockholders. THE COMPANY’S INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE COMPANY’S SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and stockholders may obtain a copy of the solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9, any amendments or supplements thereto and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC at no charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no charge by clicking the “SEC Filings” link in the “Financials & Presentations” section of the Company’s website, https://ir.beaconroofingsupply.com/, or by contacting [email protected] as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.
Important Additional Information
The Company intends to file a proxy statement on Schedule 14A, an accompanying BLUE proxy card, and other relevant documents with the SEC in connection with such solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders for the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. THE COMPANY’S STOCKHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE COMPANY’S DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO), THE ACCOMPANYING BLUE PROXY CARD, AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and stockholders may obtain a copy of the definitive proxy statement, an accompanying BLUE proxy card, any amendments or supplements to the definitive proxy statement and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC at no charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no charge by clicking the “SEC Filings” link in the “Financials & Presentations” section of the Company’s website, https://ir.beaconroofingsupply.com/.
Participants in the Solicitation
The Company, each of its independent directors (Stuart A. Randle, Barbara G. Fast, Alan Gershenhorn, Melanie M. Hart, Racquel H. Mason, Robert M. McLaughlin, Earl Newsome, Jr., Neil S. Novich, and Douglas L. Young) and certain of its executive officers (Julian Francis, President & Chief Executive Officer and Prithvi Gandhi, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer) are deemed to be “participants” (as defined in Schedule 14A under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) in the solicitation of proxies from the Company’s stockholders in connection with matters to be considered at the Company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Information about the names of the Company’s directors and officers, their respective interests in the Company by security holdings or otherwise, and their respective compensation is set forth in the sections entitled “Information About our Nominees,” “Compensation of Directors,” “Information on Executive Compensation” and “Stock Ownership” of the Company’s Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A in connection with the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on April 3, 2024 (available here), the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2024 (available here) and the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 23, 2024 (available here). Supplemental information regarding the participants’ holdings of the Company’s securities can be found in SEC filings on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC on May 28, 2024 and May 17, 2024 for Mr. Randle (available here and here); May 17, 2024 for Ms. Fast (available here); May 17, 2024 for Mr. Gershenhorn (available here); May 17, 2024 for Ms. Hart (available here); May 17, 2024 for Ms. Mason (available here); May 17, 2024 for Mr. McLaughlin (available here); May 17, 2024 for Mr. Newsome (available here); May 17, 2024 for Mr. Novich (available here); May 17, 2024 for Mr. Young (available here); May 22, 2024 for Mr. Francis (available here); and August 8, 2024 and May 21, 2024 for Mr. Gandhi (available here and here). Such filings are also available on the Company’s website at https://ir.beaconroofingsupply.com/financials-and-presentations/sec-filings.
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1 From January 2, 2020 to November 15, 2024.
2 From launch of the Ambition 2025 plan through the third quarter of 2024.
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Beacon Contacts:
Media
Jennifer Lewis
VP, Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility
[email protected]
571-752-1048
Ed Trissel / Andrea Rose
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449
Investors
Binit Sanghvi
VP, Capital Markets and Treasurer
[email protected]
972-369-8005
Bruce Goldfarb / Pat McHugh
Okapi Partners LLC
888-785-6673
212-297-0720
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America Virginia
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Other Construction & Property Construction & Property Other Manufacturing Manufacturing
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