On Oct. 24, Acuity Brands announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire QSC for $1.2 billion ($1.1 billion net of approximately $100 million in estimated tax benefits). Neil Ashe, chairman, president, and CEO of Acuity Brands, said the acquisition of QSC builds on the company’s vision of data interoperability as it works to make spaces smarter, safer, and greener.
“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,” Ashe explained. “QSC has built a differentiated cloud-manageable audio, video, and control platform that controls what happens in a built space.”
SCN has confirmed the entire QSC business—both the Q-SYS and the QSC Audio brands—will become a part of Acuity’s Intelligent Spaces Group business unit. A cloud-first architecture, Q-SYS combines AI, machine learning, and computer vision into a unified AV platform for audio, video, and control solutions. It has broad applications across multiple vertical markets, including education, commercial, hospitality, government, healthcare, and transportation. QSC Audio delivers audio solutions for live sound, cinema, and installed sound applications. The company split its operations into the two divisions in July 2022.
"We are excited to be joining a company that is aligned around our long-term mission and shares our values,” said Joe Pham, chairman and CEO of QSC. “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.”
[Joe Pham Looks at a Future of AV and AI]
According to Acuity, the net purchase price represents approximately 14 times QSC’s estimated EBITDA for the last 12 months ending Aug. 31, 2024. (QSC delivered sales of approximately $535 million during the same time period.) It is expected to be accretive to Acuity’s’ fiscal 2025 full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share.
