QXO won’t participate in bidding war for GMS - source

Investing.com -- Shares of GMS Inc (NYSE:GMS) are surging over 26% higher on Friday as a potential bidding war is brewing for the distributor of building products. However, the company that helped put the company in play, QXO Inc (NYSE:QXO), is not willing to entertain such a process to acquire the company, according to a source familiar with the matter.

On Wednesday evening, QXO, run by deal-savvy Brad Jacobs, went public with an all-cash offer of $95.20 per share for GMS. The ante was raised after the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) has submitted its own offer for GMS, although the price Home Depot is willing to pay could not be learned.

GMS, for its part, said it would review the QXO offer, which it described as “unsolicited.” GMS has not commented on the potential Home Depot offer but said it is working with investment bank Jefferies LLC.

Despite the QXO bid being viewed as unsolicited, Jacobs disclosed in a letter that he met with GMS CEO John Turner in May of this year and that his company has been “studying GMS for over a year.”

QXO is just coming off the closing of its $11 billion deal for Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN), which analysts have described as its “cornerstone acquisition.”

The Beacon deal is seen as part of the reason GMS is now “in play.” The other reason is that home building is expected to be a stable and growing industry in the U.S., and the industry is relatively AI-proof.

In the letter, Jacobs noted that GMS has seen a “meaningful changes in the volume and trading levels of GMS shares since our announcement to acquire Beacon Roofing Supply.” In addition, analysts have noted that GMS was a potential takeover target. “With respect to the takeover speculation in the stock, we also note the steep rise in your share price following our meeting on May 22, 2025, in New York, as well as a research report by Raymond James, which resulted from a non-deal roadshow with you and your CFO, stating that GMS was a likely acquisition target and GMS’s management was willing to entertain a sale,” Jacobs said in the letter. He also commented on rumors from industry participants that bankers had been “aggressively marketing the Company for sale.”

If a bidding war between QXO and Home Depot does ensue, Wall Street analysts expect Home Depot to come out on top.

“QXO has a history of "one and done" offers for companies while HD, in our view, may be willing to pay a higher multiple,” Truist Securities analyst Keith Hughes said on Friday while raising his price target to $105 per share.

GMS last traded at $102.66 per share.

This article first appeared in Investing.com