When Brad Jacobs Talks, Investors Should Pay Attention
The billionaire is taking his offer for Beacon Roofing Supply directly to shareholders. Previous ones have not been disappointed.
Stockholders who bet early on Brad Jacobs’ ventures have been rewarded handsomely.
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
More than two years ago, billionaire Brad Jacobs announced plans to start a new roll-up venture after a move in 2022 to break into three parts XPO, the logistics company that he built through acquisitions to reach as much as $17 billion in sales from $160 million in a little more than a decade.
Investors were beginning to wonder what was taking Jacobs so long to pull the trigger on his first target, which Jacobs said in 2023 would be in the building materials market. Jacobs took over the listing of a dormant company to form QXO Inc., which by last July had lined up private financing, including from Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, to give it firepower of $5 billion in cash and no debt to hunt for targets.