Lowe's Plans $8.8B Acquisition of Foundation Building Materials

Lowe's Companies Inc. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Foundation Building Materials (FBM) for approximately $8.8 billion in cash, marking a strategic move to expand its presence in the professional contractor market. FBM, a leading North American distributor of interior building products with over 370 locations and 40,000 Pro customers, reported strong growth with $6.5 billion in revenue and $635 million in adjusted EBITDA for 2024. This acquisition is expected to be accretive to Lowe's adjusted diluted earnings per share in the first full year post-closing and is aimed at enhancing Lowe's Total Home strategy by broadening its Pro customer offerings and creating significant cross-selling opportunities, especially alongside the recent Artisan Design Group acquisition. Lowe's plans to finance the deal through a mix of short-term and long-term debt while maintaining its credit ratings. Following the announcement, Lowe's also reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and raised its full-year sales outlook to $84.5 billion to $85.5 billion, reflecting increased demand for home projects. The acquisition positions Lowe's to capture a larger share of the $250 billion addressable market for professional building materials, reinforcing its competitive stance against rivals like Home Depot.