Acuity Brands to Acquire QSC

Atlanta, GA (October 24, 2024 )—Industrial technology company Acuity Brands is slated to acquire QSC in its second quarter of fiscal 2025, nabbing the long running pro-audio-turned-AV&C manufacturer for $1.215 billion.

The net purchase price represents approximately 14 times QSC’s estimated EBITDA for the last twelve months ending August 31, 2024. QSC delivered sales of approximately $535 million for the twelve months prior to that date. Acuity expects to fund the transaction using $600 million of term loan financing and the remainder with cash on its Balance Sheet.

Based in Atlanta, Acuity is a major player in adjacent markets to QSC, as it’s the parent company to Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL) and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), producing lighting, lighting controls, building management solutions, and location-aware applications.

In a statement, Neil Ashe, Chairman, president and chief executive officer of Acuity Brands, explained the acquisition, noting, “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.”

Joe Pham, chairman and chief executive officer of QSC, elaborated, “We are excited to be joining a company that is aligned around our long-term mission and shares our values. Our shared vision of how we can leverage data with our technology solutions will elevate our ability to service our end-users and drive growth.”