QSC has reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by the industrial-technology company Acuity Brands.
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The audiovisual solutions pioneer QSC, which also developed and owns Q-SYS, revealed that it will become a part of Acuity’s Intelligent Spaces Group to help create “disruptive” technologies that make “smarter, safer, and greener” spaces.
Acuity provided a little extra information in its press release, including the net purchase price of $1.1 billion, which represents around 14 times QSC’s estimated EBITDA for the last 12 months. QSC made sales of roughly $535 million for the year ending August 31, 2024.
Neil Ashe, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Acuity Brands, Inc., points to the gains QSC could help deliver regarding data interoperability: “In our Intelligent Spaces business, we are delivering meaningful outcomes for end users that are powered by disruptive technologies and that generate strong financial results.
“QSC has built a differentiated cloud-manageable audio, video and control platform that controls what happens in a built space."
Our acquisition of QSC builds on our vision of data interoperability as we continue to make spaces smarter, safer and greener.”
Terms of the Deal
Acuity describes QSC as a “disrupter” in the audio, video, and control (AV&C) industry, which offers a cloud-manageable audio, video, and control platform with controls, sensors, and software that have applications throughout education, commercial, government, hospitality, healthcare, and transportation.
Acuity plans to fund the takeover with a $600 million term loan and pay the rest with cash on its balance sheet.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of FY 2025, subject to the usual closing conditions.
Joe Pham, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of QSC, believes QSC and Acuity Brands are a good fit: "Bringing QSC together with Acuity underscores the critical role AV technology plays in live, hybrid, and virtual experiences.
