CEO of Herndon Fortune 500 company is leaving
Kate Andrews //April 29, 2025//
Photo courtesy Beacon Roofing Supply
Photo courtesy Beacon Roofing Supply
CEO of Herndon Fortune 500 company is leaving
Kate Andrews //April 29, 2025//
Beacon Roofing Supply, a Herndon-based Fortune 500 roofing material and building supplies company, is now a subsidiary of Connecticut software and tech business QXO after the closing of its $11 billion purchase Tuesday, QXO announced.
Beacon CEO Julian G. Francis, who has been with the company since 2019, has left the company, a QXO spokesperson said Tuesday. However, many of Beacon’s employees in Herndon will remain in place. In 2023, Beacon reported $9 billion in revenue and $9.76 billion in 2024, and it employed about 8,000 people in the United States and Canada.
QXO announced its definitive merger agreement in March, with the Connecticut firm agreeing to purchase Beacon for $124.35 per share in cash, after Beacon declined a previous offer of 10 cents lower per share in January. With the closing of the acquisition, QXO has also completed its $830 million equity private placement. Shares of Beacon’s stock ceased trading before the opening of the market Tuesday.
Brad Jacobs, chairman, CEO and founder of QXO, is a billionaire serial entrepreneur who has built seven multibillion-dollar companies primarily through mergers and acquisitions.
“Acquiring Beacon is a major step forward in our strategy to make QXO the leading tech-enabled company in the $800 billion building products distribution industry,” Jacobs said in a statement. “We’re excited to welcome Beacon’s talented team and, together, apply our proven playbook to accelerate growth, expand margins and create an unmatched customer experience.”
The purchase makes QXO the largest publicly traded distributor of roofing, waterproofing and complementary building products in the United States. Jacobs has stated his plans to build QXO to a $50 billion business, and spokesperson Joe Checkler said QXO expects to double Beacon’s profits within the next five years.
According to Checkler, regulatory approvals from the U.S. and Canadian governments came quickly, leading to a “pretty fast” closing of the transaction.
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