* QXO is led by billionaire dealmaker Brad Jacobs

* Transaction approved by the boards QXO and TopBuild ( BLD )

* Deal expected to be immediately accretive to QXO

earnings

By Mihika Sharma and Gursimran Mehar

April 19 (Reuters) - U.S. construction supplies

distributor QXO struck a $17 billion deal on Sunday to

acquire building products distributor and installer TopBuild ( BLD )

, adding to a wave of acquisitions by the company led by

billionaire dealmaker Brad Jacobs.

The deal will make QXO the second-largest publicly traded

building products distributor in North America, with more than

$18 billion of combined company revenue, the company said.

As part of the deal, Connecticut-based QXO said

Florida-based TopBuild's ( BLD ) shareholders can elect to receive $505

in cash or 20.2 shares of QXO common stock for each TopBuild ( BLD )

share held on the condition that the total transaction is paid

as about 45% in cash and 55% in shares of QXO common stock.

The $505 cash consideration represents a premium of 23.1%

over insulation and commercial roofing firm TopBuild's ( BLD ) last

close of $410.31 on Friday, Reuters calculations showed.

QXO said that the deal, which has been unanimously approved

by the boards of both companies, is expected to be immediately

and substantially accretive to its earnings.

QXO has market capitalization of around $18.08 billion.

TopBuild ( BLD ) has a market capitalization of around $11.54 billion.

"Over the past 11 months, we've built QXO into a market

leader through more than $13 billion of acquisitions, closing on

Beacon in 2025 and Kodiak earlier this month. TopBuild ( BLD ) will be

our most significant acquisition yet." said Jacobs, the chairman

and CEO of QXO.

'CRITICAL MASS'

"The TopBuild ( BLD ) transaction will also give us critical mass in

the insulation sector and expand our exposure to large, complex

projects like data centers, where scale matters," said Jacobs,

who is widely regarded as an M&A specialist.

A rapid buildout of the technology ​industry's

energy-intensive data centers is increasingly being used ​for

the development of artificial intelligence.

Jacobs, who has built multibillion-dollar companies in

logistics, waste management and equipment rentals, has

positioned QXO to pursue more deals. QXO counts U.S. President

Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner as a board member.

QXO, a newcomer to the building products sector, completed

an $11 billion acquisition of Beacon Roofing Supply last year.

It also bid for GMS and threatened a hostile takeover, but

ultimately lost out to home improvement chain Home Depot.

The deal for TopBuild ( BLD ), which is expected to close in the third

quarter of 2026, adds to the uptick in mergers and acquisitions

in the U.S. building-products industry as companies seek scale

and localize supply chains to mitigate tariffs, with demand

buoyed by new housing construction, repairs and renovations.

Following the deal, QXO said it will have around 28,000

employees, 1,150 locations across all 50 U.S. states and seven

Canadian provinces, with a fleet size of more than 10,000

vehicles.

In February, QXO announced a $2.25 billion deal to buy U.S.

distributor of building materials Kodiak Building Partners.

At the start of the year, QXO had secured $1.8 billion in

financing, led by Apollo Global Management ( APO ) and Singapore's

Temasek, after raising $1.2 billion previously.

QXO distributes roofing and related building products, using

technology to help contractors and suppliers manage inventory,

orders and customer service, according to its website. TopBuild ( BLD )

is a leading installer and specialty distributor serving the

construction industry across the United States and Canada,

serving residential, commercial and industrial end markets,

according to its website.