How Brad Jacobs Plans to Revolutionize Building Supply Distribution
And how he’ll spend $4.5 billion.
Workers sort pallets of goods at an XPO Logistics Inc. distribution hub in Barcelona, Spain.
Photographer: Angel Garcia/BloombergBrad Jacobs has made a career of starting, consolidating, and growing whole industries. He did a trucking company. He did a warehouse company. He has a freight brokerage. He created an equipment rental company. His new venture, dubbed QXO, aims to reshape the big and sprawling market for building supplies, which can encompass residential, infrastructure and commercial real estate. And he has $4.5 billion of his and his investors' money to go out and buy and build. In this special episode of the Odd Lots podcast, recorded live at the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York City, he talks about where he is in the process, and what he plans to do once he's made his acquisitions. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Key insights from the pod:
Fundraising for QXO — 1:57
The Brad Jacobs playbook — 3:04
The cardinal sin of M&A — 3:35
The opportunity in building products — 8:52
The buying experience for construction materials — 11:06
The impact of higher interest rates — 18:20
The economic environment — 19:05
Brad’s favorite deals — 27:21
Conway acquisition — 28:30
Opportunities in oil and gas — 32:01
China and supply chain resilience — 34:22