Securities Sought | Subject to certain conditions, including the satisfaction of the Minimum Condition, as defined below, any and all of the outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of GMS Inc. Unless the context otherwise requires, in this Offer to Purchase, the term “Shares” refers to shares of GMS common stock. | ||
Price Offered Per Share | $110.00 per Share in cash, without interest and subject to any required withholding of taxes (which we refer to as the “Offer Price”). | ||
Scheduled Expiration of Offer | One minute after 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on Friday, August 8, 2025, unless the Offer is extended or terminated. See Section 1 — “Terms of the Offer.” | ||
Purchaser | Gold Acquisition Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of The Home Depot, Inc., a Delaware corporation. | ||
• | the Offer is being made for all outstanding Shares solely for cash; |
• | the Offer is not subject to any financing condition; |
• | The Home Depot will have sufficient funds to purchase all Shares tendered pursuant to the Offer; and |
• | if we consummate the Offer, we will acquire all remaining Shares for the same cash price in the Merger as was paid in the Offer (i.e., the Offer Price). |
• | the number of Shares validly tendered in accordance with the terms of the Offer and “received” by the “depositary” (as such terms are defined in Section 215(h) of the DGCL), and not validly withdrawn, on or prior to the Expiration Time represent a majority of the Shares then outstanding (which we refer to as the “Minimum Condition”); |
• | any waiting period (or any extension thereof) applicable to the Offer under the (i) the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (which, together with the rules and regulations thereunder, we refer to as the “HSR Act”) and (ii) the Competition Act (Canada), as amended and including the regulations promulgated thereunder (which we refer to as the “Canadian Competition Act”), and any agreement (including any timing agreement) with any Government Entity (as defined below) not to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement for some period of time has expired or been terminated (which we refer to as the “Antitrust Law Condition”); |
• | no Governmental Entity, in its capacity as such, shall have (i) enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, judgment, injunction or other order (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) that is in effect or (ii) commenced any proceeding, in either case, which (A) has the effect of making the Offer, the acceptance for payment or payment for Shares pursuant to the Offer, or the Merger illegal or otherwise prohibiting or preventing the consummation of the Offer or the Merger or (B) seeks to make illegal, restrain, prohibit or materially delay the making or consummation of the Offer or the Merger or the performance of any other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement (which we refer to as the “Governmental Authority Condition”); |
• | the representations and warranties made by GMS in the Merger Agreement are true and correct, subject to the materiality and other qualifications set forth in the Merger Agreement (which we refer to as the “Representations Condition”); |
• | GMS has complied with or performed in all material respects the covenants or agreements it is required to comply with or perform under the Merger Agreement at or prior to the Expiration Time (which we refer to as the “Obligations Condition”); |
• | The Home Depot has received a certificate signed by an executive officer of GMS, and dated as of the date of the Expiration Time, certifying that the Representations Condition and the Obligations Condition have been satisfied; and |
• | the Merger Agreement has not been terminated in accordance with its terms. |
• | reduce the number of Shares subject to the Offer; |
• | reduce the Offer Price; |
• | change, modify or waive the Minimum Condition; |
• | change the form of consideration payable in the Offer; |
• | terminate the Offer or accelerate, extend or otherwise change the Expiration Time, except as provided under the Merger Agreement; |
• | impose conditions to the Offer other than the conditions described in Section 15 — “Conditions to the Offer” or modify or change any such conditions in a manner adverse to any GMS stockholder; or |
• | otherwise amend, modify or supplement any of the other terms of the Offer in any manner adverse to any stockholder of GMS. |
Terms of the Offer. |
Acceptance for Payment and Payment for Shares. |
Procedures for Accepting the Offer and Tendering Shares. |
• | the Letter of Transmittal is signed by the registered holder(s) of the Shares tendered therewith, unless such registered holder has completed either the box entitled “Special Payment Instructions” or the box entitled “Special Delivery Instructions” on the Letter of Transmittal; or |
• | the Shares are tendered for the account of a financial institution (including most commercial banks, savings and loan associations and brokerage houses) that is a member in good standing of the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program or any other “eligible guarantor institution,” as such term is defined in Rule 17Ad-15 of the Exchange Act (each of which we refer to as an “Eligible Institution” and, collectively, we refer to as “Eligible Institutions”). |
Withdrawal Rights. |
Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences. |
Price Range of Shares; Dividends. |
High | Low | |||||
Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2024 | ||||||
First Quarter | $83.85 | $57.03 | ||||
Second Quarter | $97.34 | $78.22 | ||||
Third Quarter | $97.34 | $78.22 | ||||
Fourth Quarter | $96.23 | $78.17 | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2025 | ||||||
First Quarter | $96.49 | $78.17 | ||||
Second Quarter | $96.23 | $82.45 | ||||
Third Quarter | $103.84 | $80.08 | ||||
Fourth Quarter | $84.64 | $66.73 | ||||
Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 2026 | ||||||
First Quarter (through July 11, 2025) | $109.70 | $72.15 | ||||
Certain Information Concerning GMS. |
Certain Information Concerning The Home Depot and Purchaser. |
Source and Amount of Funds. |
Background of the Offer; Past Contacts or Negotiations with GMS. |
The Merger Agreement. |
• | reduce the number of Shares subject to the Offer; |
• | reduce the Offer Price; |
• | change, modify or waive the Minimum Condition; |
• | change the form of consideration payable in the Offer; |
• | extend or otherwise change the Expiration Time, except as provided under the Merger Agreement; |
• | impose conditions to the Offer other than the conditions described in Section 15 — “Conditions to the Offer” or modify or change any such conditions in a manner adverse to any GMS stockholder; or |
• | otherwise amend, modify or supplement any of the other terms of the Offer in a manner adverse to any stockholder of GMS. |
• | no domestic or foreign governmental or regulatory body, commission, agency, court, instrumentality, authority or other legislative, executive, governmental or judicial entity having competent jurisdiction shall have enacted, issued or entered any executive order, judgment, injunction, award, decree, writ or other order (whether preliminary, permanent or temporary) which remains in effect that enjoins or otherwise prohibits or makes illegal the Merger and no U.S. federal, state, municipal, local or foreign laws, statutes, ordinances, treaties, rules, regulations, codes, orders or legally enforceable requirements by any governmental entity under the authority of the NYSE will have been enacted, entered, promulgated or enforced after the date hereof (and still be in effect) by any such body or entity that prohibits or makes illegal the consummation of the Merger; and |
• | Purchaser has previously accepted for payment all Shares validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to the Offer. |
• | Stock Options. The Merger Agreement provides that, immediately prior to the Effective Time (but contingent upon the Effective Time), each then-outstanding option to purchase Shares (each, a “Company Stock Option”) granted under the 2014 GMS Inc. Stock Option Plan, the GMS Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and the GMS Inc. Equity Incentive Plan (together, the “Company Stock Plans”), whether vested or unvested, will become fully vested and will be, as of immediately prior to the Effective Time (but contingent upon the Effective Time), cancelled and converted into the right to receive an amount in cash equal to the product of (i) the excess, if any, of the Merger Consideration over the applicable exercise price per share underlying such Company Stock Option and (ii) the number of Shares underlying such Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time. All amounts payable to the holders of Company Stock Options will be without any interest thereon and less any required withholding of taxes. |
• | Restricted Stock Units. The Merger Agreement provides that, immediately prior to the Effective Time (but contingent upon the Effective Time), each then-outstanding restricted stock unit granted under a Company Stock Plan (each, a “Company Restricted Unit”), other than any Company Restricted Units granted to GMS’s CEO or COO in respect of their annual equity awards on or around August 1, 2025 (each, a “Rollover RSU”) or as may otherwise be agreed to in writing by The Home Depot and any holder of a Company Restricted Unit, will become fully vested and, subject to compliance with Section 409A of the Code, will be, as of immediately prior to the Effective Time (but contingent upon the Effective Time), cancelled and converted into the right to receive an amount in cash equal to the product of (i) the Merger Consideration and (ii) the number of Shares underlying such Company Restricted Unit immediately prior to the Effective Time. All amounts payable to the holders of Company Restricted Units will be paid without any interest thereon and less any required withholding of taxes. |
• | Home Depot RSUs. The Merger Agreement provides that, immediately prior to the Effective Time (but contingent upon the Effective Time), each Rollover RSU will be assumed by The Home Depot and converted into a restricted stock unit (each, a “Home Depot RSU”) with respect to shares of common stock, par value $0.05 per share, of The Home Depot (which we refer to as the “Home Depot Shares”) under the Home Depot, Inc. Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan, as amended and restated May 19, 2022. The number of the Home Depot RSUs issuable with respect to each Rollover RSU will equal the product of (i) the number of Shares underlying such Rollover RSU and (ii) a fraction (x) the numerator of which is the Merger Consideration and (y) the denominator of which is the volume weighted average price per share, rounded to the nearest one tenth of a cent, of the Home Depot Shares on the NYSE (as reported by Bloomberg L.P. or another authoritative source mutually selected by The Home Depot and GMS) for the ten (10) consecutive trading days ending on (and including) the trading day that is three (3) trading days prior to the date of the Effective Time, rounded down to the nearest whole share. The Home Depot RSUs issued upon conversion of the Rollover RSUs will be subject to substantially the same terms and conditions as the Rollover RSUs, including any vesting and acceleration of vesting provisions (which we refer to as the “Vesting Conditions”); however, The Home Depot may implement changes that, in the reasonable and good faith determination of The Home Depot, are appropriate to conform the Rollover RSUs to the Home Depot RSUs, so long as such changes are applicable to other holders of the Home Depot RSUs (other than Affected Employees (as defined below)) and do not modify the Vesting Conditions. |
• | corporate matters, such as organization, organizational documents, standing, qualification, power and authority; |
• | capital structure of GMS and its subsidiaries; |
• | authority relative to the Merger Agreement; |
• | required consents and approvals and no violations of organizational documents or applicable law; |
• | financial statements and SEC filings; |
• | disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting; |
• | the absence of certain changes; |
• | the absence of undisclosed liabilities; |
• | compliance with laws (including anti-corruption, anti-bribery and import and export laws), permits and regulatory matters; |
• | litigation; |
• | employees and employee benefit plans, including ERISA and certain related matters; |
• | environmental matters; |
• | tax matters; |
• | labor and employment matters; |
• | intellectual property, information technology and data privacy; |
• | insurance; |
• | properties; |
• | material contracts; |
• | significant customers and suppliers; |
• | information to be included in the Offer documents, the Schedule 14D-9 and other information required to be disseminated in connection with the Offer; |
• | state takeover statutes; |
• | no rights agreement; |
• | merger approval matters; |
• | brokers and certain fees; and |
• | the opinion of financial advisors. |
i. | changes after the date of the Merger Agreement in GAAP or the authoritative interpretation thereof; |
ii. | changes after the date of the Merger Agreement in laws or the authoritative interpretation thereof; |
iii. | general changes after the date of the Merger Agreement in global, national or regional political conditions (including the outbreak of war or acts of terrorism) or in economic or market conditions (including securities markets, credit markets, currency markets and other financial markets) in any country; |
iv. | changes generally affecting the industries in which GMS or its subsidiaries operate; |
v. | earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, mudslides, wild fires or other natural disasters, weather conditions, epidemics or pandemics or disease outbreaks; |
vi. | the announcement, pendency or consummation of the Merger Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, including the identity of The Home Depot or any of its affiliates and including any impact on the relationship of GMS or any of its subsidiaries, contractual or otherwise, with its customers, suppliers, distributors, vendors, employees or partners; |
vii. | a change in the market price or trading volume of the Shares, or the failure of GMS to meet public projections, estimates or expectations of its revenue, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations for any period, or any failure by GMS to meet any internal budgets, plans or forecasts of its revenues, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations (but not, in each case, the underlying cause of such changes or failures, unless such underlying cause would otherwise be excepted from this definition); |
viii. | any breach, violation or non-performance of any provision of the Merger Agreement by The Home Depot or any of its affiliates; |
ix. | any actions taken or omitted to be taken by GMS or any of its subsidiaries at the written request of The Home Depot; and |
x. | any actions taken or omitted to be taken by GMS or any of its subsidiaries that is required or expressly contemplated to be taken or omitted pursuant to the Merger Agreement; |
• | corporate matters, such as organization, standing, qualification, power and authority; |
• | authority relative to the Merger Agreement; |
• | required consents and approvals, and no violations of organizational documents, applicable laws or agreements; |
• | Share ownership; |
• | litigation; |
• | availability of funds; |
• | lack of operations of Purchaser; |
• | accuracy of information supplied for purposes of the Offer documents and the Schedule 14D-9; and |
• | brokers and certain fees. |
• | amend or modify its Certificate of Incorporation or bylaws, or amend or modify any of its subsidiaries’ organizational documents; |
• | declare, set aside, authorize, make or pay any dividends on or make any distribution with respect to its outstanding capital stock or other ownership interests or securities (whether in cash, assets, stock or other securities or property of GMS or its subsidiaries), except dividends and distributions made by a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of GMS to GMS or another wholly owned subsidiary of the GMS; |
• | directly or indirectly redeem, repurchase or otherwise acquire any shares of its capital stock or other ownership interests or securities or obligations convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for (currently or after the passage of time or the occurrence of certain events) any such capital stock, interest or securities; |
• | except for (A) transactions exclusively between GMS and its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries or among GMS’s direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries and (B) issuances of Shares in respect of any exercise of Company Stock Options or vesting or settlement of Company Restricted Units outstanding on the date of the Merger Agreement, in each case in accordance with the terms of the applicable award agreement as in effect as of the date of the Merger Agreement, issue, sell, grant, or otherwise permit to become outstanding or pledge, dispose of, or encumber (other than certain permitted liens) or authorize the issuance, sale, purchase or subscription for or grant, pledge, disposition of, or encumber (other than certain permitted liens) any shares of capital stock or other ownership interests or securities of GMS or any subsidiary of GMS or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of capital stock of or other ownership interests or securities of GMS or any of its subsidiaries or any rights, warrants or options to acquire or with respect to any such shares, interests or securities; |
• | split, combine, subdivide, amend the terms of or reclassify the Shares or any other shares in the capital stock of or ownership interests in or securities of GMS or any subsidiary of GMS; |
• | except to the extent required by the express terms of a contract in existence as of the date of the Merger Agreement or by the express terms of a Company Benefit Plan: |
• | increase in any manner the compensation or benefits (including severance, termination, change-in-control, incentive and retention compensation or benefits) of any current or former directors, officers or employees with annual base compensation in excess of $140,000, in each case of GMS or any of its subsidiaries, except in the ordinary course of business; |
• | grant any Company Stock Awards or other equity or equity-based awards, or amend the terms of any Company Stock Awards outstanding as of the date of the Merger Agreement; |
• | enter into, terminate, amend (other than de minimis administrative amendments to Company Benefit Plans that are health and welfare plans that do not increase the level of benefits or cost to GMS or any of its subsidiaries of maintaining the applicable Company Benefit Plan), adopt, implement or otherwise commit itself to any Company Benefit Plan or other compensation or benefit plan, program, policy or contract or other agreement that would be a Company Benefit Plan if in effect as of the date of the Merger Agreement; |
• | other than pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, take any action to amend, waive or accelerate the vesting of, or the lapsing of restrictions or performance criteria with respect to, any Company Benefit Plan or Company Stock Option, Company Restricted Unit or otherwise accelerate any rights or benefits, or make any determinations under any Company Benefit Plan; |
• | establish or fund (or provide any funding for) any rabbi trust or other funding arrangement, including in respect of any Company Benefit Plan; |
• | (i) hire or promote any person with annual base compensation in excess of $200,000 or corporate level employees with the title of Vice President or higher (other than hires or promotions to fill vacancies resulting from terminations for cause or voluntary resignations, with such new hire or promotee receiving compensation and benefits that are substantially similar to those provided to the departing employees), or (ii) terminate (other than for cause) the employment or services of any employee with annual base compensation in excess of $200,000 or corporate level employees with the title of Vice President or higher; or |
• | other than as required by applicable law, enter into, establish or adopt any collective bargaining or similar agreement with any new union, works council or labor organization, without providing reasonable advance notice to The Home Depot; |
• | make any loans or advances to any person, including any of its directors or executive officers or make any change to any existing borrowing or lending arrangements for or on behalf of any such persons in each case other than (A) trade credit in the ordinary course of business, (B) travel and payroll advances granted to directors and executive officers in the ordinary course of business and (C) loans, advances or capital contributions to, or investments in, wholly-owned subsidiaries of GMS in the ordinary course of business; |
• | incur, assume, guarantee or prepay any indebtedness for borrowed money or issue or sell any debt securities or rights to acquire any debt securities (directly, contingently or otherwise), except for (A) any indebtedness for borrowed money solely between GMS and its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries or among GMS’s direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries or (B) indebtedness for borrowed money incurred in the ordinary course of business, so long as the aggregate principal amount thereof outstanding at any time does not exceed the aggregate principal amount outstanding thereunder on the date hereof or, if greater, the aggregate amount of commitments available under GMS’s existing credit facilities without giving effect to any incremental increases thereto (and, in the case of GMS’s ABL credit agreement, any modifications to the definition of (or component definitions of) “Borrowing Base” thereunder); |
• | incur any lien, charge, mortgage, security interest, pledge, encumbrance, deed of trust, security interest, adverse claim, option, easement, servitude, or other encumbrance of any kind on any of its tangible property or assets, except for certain permitted liens; |
• | change in any material respect any of the accounting methods, principles or practices used by it unless required by a change in GAAP; |
• | (A) make, change or revoke any material income tax election, (B) file any material amended income tax return, (C) settle or compromise any material liability for income taxes or surrender any claim for a refund of a material amount of income taxes, (D) enter into any “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code (or any corresponding or similar provision of state, local or non-U.S. law), tax allocation agreement or tax sharing agreement (other than any commercial agreement entered into |
• | acquire, whether by merger, consolidation, acquisition of stock or other material assets or otherwise, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other person or business, other than (A) any mergers, consolidations, business combinations or acquisitions solely between or among GMS and its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries or among GMS’s direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, or (B) the purchase of supplies, equipment, inventory, products and other assets in the ordinary course of business; |
• | renew, extend, terminate, amend in any material respect or waive any of its material rights under certain material contracts or certain government contracts, or enter into any contract that would constitute such a material or government contract if entered into prior to the date of the Merger Agreement, except for (A) other than with respect to certain material contracts or certain government contracts, any renewals, extensions, amendments, waivers or entries into contracts in the ordinary course of business, in each case on terms entered into in the ordinary course of business or (B) terminations pursuant to the expiration of the existing terms of any such material contract; |
• | make or authorize any capital expenditure that is not contemplated in the confidential disclosure schedule delivered by GMS to The Home Depot in connection with the Merger Agreement, other than capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business that do not exceed, since the day of the Merger Agreement, more than $5,000,000 in the aggregate; |
• | sell, transfer, assign, lease or license, mortgage, encumber (other than pursuant to certain permitted encumbrances) or otherwise dispose of any of its tangible assets, tangible properties or businesses, except for sales, transfers, assignments, leases, licenses, mortgages, encumbrances or other dispositions of supplies, equipment, inventory or products in the ordinary course of business or pursuant to an existing contract set forth in the confidential disclosure schedule delivered by GMS to The Home Depot in connection with the Merger Agreement; |
• | cancel, release or assign any indebtedness of any person owed to it or any claims held by it against any person other than claims (A) held by it in the ordinary course that do not exceed $1,000,000 individually or $5,000,000 in the aggregate or (B) solely between or among GMS and any of its wholly owned subsidiaries or among any such subsidiaries; |
• | except in the ordinary course of business, (A) abandon, disclaim, dedicate to the public, sell, assign or grant any security interest (other than certain permitted encumbrances) in, to or under any intellectual property owned by GMS (other than immaterial or obsolete intellectual property), including failing to perform or cause to be performed all applicable filings, recordings and other acts, or to pay or cause to be paid all required fees and taxes, to maintain and protect its interest in such intellectual property, or (B) grant to any third party any license, or enter into any covenant not to sue, with respect to any intellectual property owned by GMS (other than non-exclusive licenses granted to customers or end users in the ordinary course of business) or (C) knowingly disclose any material trade secrets of GMS or any subsidiaries of GMS (other than to a person bound by adequate confidentiality obligations); |
• | materially reduce the amount of insurance coverage or fail to renew any material existing insurance policies; |
• | commence, settle or compromise any pending or threatened proceeding (whether or not commenced prior to the date of the Merger Agreement) against GMS or any subsidiary of GMS or its or their respective directors, officers or employees (in their capacities as such), except for settlements or compromises that (A) involve only monetary remedies with a value (excluding any amounts paid by insurance carriers) not in excess of $5,000,000, with respect to any individual proceeding or $5,000,000 in the aggregate to be paid by GMS or any subsidiary of GMS, (B) do not involve any |
• | adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, merger, consolidation, restructuring, recapitalization or other reorganization (other than the Merger Agreement); |
• | enter into any new, or extend (for longer than twelve (12) months) any existing, lease, sublease, license, or other agreement for the use or occupancy of any real property in excess of $1,000,000 annually; and |
• | agree to do, or make any commitment to do, any of the foregoing. |
• | initiate, solicit, knowingly facilitate or knowingly encourage the making of any inquiries regarding, or the submission, making or announcement by any person (other than The Home Depot or its subsidiaries) of any proposal or offer that constitutes, or would reasonably be expected to lead to or result in, an Acquisition Proposal; |
• | engage in, enter into, continue or otherwise participate in any discussions or negotiations with any person (other than The Home Depot, Purchaser or any of their representatives) with respect to, any Acquisition Proposal, or any inquiry, proposal or offer that would reasonably be expected to lead to an Acquisition Proposal; |
• | provide any information or data concerning GMS or any of its subsidiaries to any person in connection with, relating to or for the purpose of soliciting, initiating, knowingly encouraging or knowingly facilitating, or in respect to any inquiry, proposal or offer that constitutes, or would reasonably be expected to result in, an Acquisition Proposal (it being understood that the foregoing will not prohibit GMS or its representatives from making such person aware of the provisions of the Merger Agreement in respect of any Acquisition Proposal); |
• | approve, adopt, recommend or enter into any acquisition agreement, merger agreement or similar definitive agreement, or any letter of intent (whether binding or non-binding), memorandum of understanding or agreement in principle or any other similar agreement, commitment or understanding (other than an acceptable confidentiality agreement) relating to an Acquisition Proposal; or |
• | release any third party from, or waive, amend or modify any provision of, or grant permission under, or fail to enforce, any standstill provision in any agreement to which GMS or any of its affiliates is a party. |
i. | GMS receives from such person an executed acceptable confidentiality agreement; |
ii. | GMS promptly (and in any event within twenty-four (24) hours) makes available to The Home Depot any non-public information concerning GMS that is provided to any person given such access that was not previously made available to The Home Depot; and |
iii. | GMS provides The Home Depot with such notices and information required by the Merger Agreement; |
• | the identity of the person making or submitting such Acquisition Proposal, inquiry or request; |
• | a copy of any Acquisition Proposal (including any financing commitments) made in writing and any other written inquiry, request or proposal provided to GMS or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective representatives; and |
• | a written summary of the terms and conditions of any Acquisition Proposal not made in writing or any such inquiry or request. |
• | “Acquisition Proposal” means any inquiry, proposal or offer from any person or group (other than The Home Depot, Purchaser or any affiliate of any of the foregoing) providing for (a) any direct or indirect acquisition or purchase, in a single transaction or a series of related transactions, of (i) 20% or more based on the fair market value, as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors of GMS of assets (including capital stock of or other equity interest in the subsidiaries of GMS) of GMS and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or (ii) Shares or other equity securities of GMS which together with any other Shares or other equity securities of GMS beneficially owned by such person or group, would equal 20% or more of aggregate voting power of GMS, (b) any tender offer or exchange offer that, if consummated, would result in any person or group owning, directly or indirectly, 20% or more of the aggregate voting power of GMS, or (c) any merger, consolidation, business combination, joint venture, binding share exchange or similar transaction involving GMS pursuant to which any person or group (or the stockholders of any person) would own, directly or indirectly, 20% or more of the aggregate voting power of GMS or of the surviving entity in a merger or the resulting direct or indirect parent of GMS or such surviving entity; |
• | “Alternative Acquisition Agreement” means any acquisition agreement, merger agreement or similar definitive agreement, or any letter of intent (whether binding or non-binding), memorandum of understanding or agreement in principle or any other similar agreement, commitment or understanding (other than a confidentiality agreement in certain circumstances) related to an Acquisition Proposal. |
• | “Intervening Event” means a fact, event, development or change in circumstances that occurs or arises after the date of the Merger Agreement (other than any Acquisition Proposal or Superior Proposal or any inquiry or communications or other matter relating thereto or the consequences thereof) and which materially affects the business, assets or operations of GMS and was not known or reasonably foreseeable (or the consequences of which were not known or reasonably foreseeable) to the Board of Directors of GMS prior to the execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement, except that no change in the market price or trading volume of the Shares or the common stock of The Home Depot or the fact that GMS meets, fails to meet or exceeds any internal or published projections, forecast or estimates of its revenue, earnings or other financial performance or results of operations for any period will be taken into account for purposes of determining whether an Intervening Event has occurred (it being understood, however, that any underlying cause thereof may be taken into account for purposes of determining whether a Intervening Event has occurred); and |
• | “Superior Proposal” means a bona fide, written Acquisition Proposal (except the references in the definition above to “20% or more” will be replaced by “more than 50%”) Board of Directors of GMS determines in good faith would, if consummated, result in a transaction that is more favorable from a financial point of view to the stockholders of GMS (solely in their capacity as such) than the Offer and the Merger, after consulting with outside counsel and an independent financial advisor and taking into account all legal, financial, regulatory, timing, certainty of closing and other aspects of such proposal as the GMS Board of Directors determines to be appropriate and any other relevant factors permitted or required to be taken into account by applicable law. |
• | change, withhold, withdraw, qualify or modify, in a manner adverse to The Home Depot and Purchaser (or publicly propose or resolve to change, withhold, withdraw, qualify or modify), the GMS Board Recommendation; |
• | fail to include the GMS Board Recommendation in the Schedule 14D-9; |
• | authorize, adopt, approve or recommend, or publicly propose to authorize, adopt, approve or recommend, or declare advisable, any Acquisition Proposal; |
• | if a tender offer or exchange offer for shares of capital stock of GMS (other than by The Home Depot or Purchaser as contemplated by the Merger Agreement) shall have been commenced, fail to publicly recommend against acceptance of such tender offer or exchange offer by the stockholders of GMS within ten (10) business days after commencement thereof (and in no event later than one (1) business day prior to the then applicable expiration time of the Offer), for the avoidance of doubt, the taking of no position of a neutral position by the Board of Directors of GMS in respect of the acceptance of any such tender offer or exchange offer as of the end of such period shall constitute a failure to publicly announce that the Board recommends against acceptance of such tender or exchange offer; |
• | if an Acquisition Proposal shall have been publicly announced or disclosed or otherwise becomes publicly known, fail to publicly reaffirm by press release the GMS Board Recommendation within |
• | cause or permit GMS or any of its subsidiaries to enter into any Alternative Acquisition Agreement. |
• | effect a Change of Recommendation if, prior to making such Change of Recommendation, the GMS Board of Directors determines in good faith (after consultation with its outside legal counsel) that, as a result of an Intervening Event, the failure to effect a Change of Recommendation would reasonably be expected to be inconsistent with the directors’ fiduciary duties under applicable law; and |
• | if GMS receives an Acquisition Proposal after the date of the Merger Agreement that has not been withdrawn and did not result from a breach of the terms of the Merger Agreement and, prior to making such Change of Recommendation or termination the Merger Agreement, the GMS Board of Directors determines that such Acquisition Proposal constitutes a Superior Proposal effect a Change in Recommendation and/or terminate the Merger Agreement (provided, that, concurrently with entering into such Alternative Acquisition Agreement and terminating the Merger Agreement, GMS pays the GMS Termination Fee in accordance with the Merger Agreement). |
• | GMS has provided prior written notice to The Home Depot of its or the GMS Board of Directors’ intention to take such action at least four (4) business days in advance of taking such action, which notice will specify, as applicable, the development or change in circumstances resulting in such Intervening Event or the information and documents (to the extent not previously provided to The Home Depot) required to be furnished pursuant to the Merger Agreement and any drafts, agreements and instruments, including financing commitments, proposed to be entered into in connection with or with respect to such Acquisition Proposal; |
• | during the four (4) business day period commencing on the date of The Home Depot’s receipt of such written notice, if requested by The Home Depot, GMS engages in good faith negotiations with The Home Depot regarding a possible amendment of the Merger Agreement that, as applicable (i) would obviate the need for the GMS Board of Directors to effect a Change of Recommendation in connection with such Intervening Event or (ii) such that the Acquisition Proposal that is the subject of such notice ceases to be a Superior Proposal; |
• | after the expiration of the negotiation period described above, and after considering in good faith any changes to the Merger Agreement or other arrangements that may be offered or proposed in writing by The Home Depot prior to the expiration thereof, the GMS Board of Directors determines, in good faith, that (i) with respect to a Superior Proposal, that the Acquisition Proposal received by GMS continues to constitute a Superior Proposal and (ii) with respect to an Intervening Event, after consultation with outside counsel, that it would continue to be inconsistent with the directors’ fiduciary duties under applicable law not to effect the Change of Recommendation as a result of such Intervening Event, in each case, if such changes offered in writing by The Home Depot in a definitive agreement were given effect; and |
• | in the event of any change to the material facts, events, developments or circumstances relating to such Intervening Event or to any of the financial terms (including the form, amount and timing of payment of consideration) or any other material change to the terms of any such Acquisition Proposal, as applicable, GMS shall, in each case, have delivered to The Home Depot an additional notice consistent with that described above, and a new notice period shall commence (except that the original four (4) business day period referred to above shall instead be equal to two (2) business days, during which time GMS will be required to comply with the other foregoing requirements with respect to such notice (and each subsequent additional notice required)). |
• | by mutual written consent of The Home Depot and GMS; |
• | by either The Home Depot or GMS if the Offer, the acceptance for payment of, or payment for, Shares pursuant to the Offer, the Merger or the consummation of any or all thereof is enjoined, prohibited or otherwise restrained by the terms of a final, non-appealable order of a governmental entity of a competent jurisdiction, provided, however, this termination right will not be available to any party whose breach of any provision of the Merger Agreement primarily results in or is the primary cause of such order to be issued or the failure of the order to be removed (which we refer to as the “Legal Restraints Termination”); |
• | if the Offer shall not have occurred on or before June 29, 2026 (as such date may be extended in accordance with the Merger Agreement or by agreement of The Home Depot and GMS, we refer to as the “Outside Date”), provided, however, that if on the Outside Date (i) all of the Offer Conditions, other than the Antitrust Law Condition or the Governmental Authority Condition with respect to any antitrust-related legal requirement, has not been satisfied or waived, and (ii) other than the Minimum Condition, all other Offer Conditions (other than those conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied at the Offer Closing, which conditions shall be capable of being satisfied at such time) have been satisfied or waived, the Outside Date will automatically be extended up to two (2) times, each for a period of three (3) months, provided further that this right to terminate the Merger Agreement will not be available to any person whose material breach of any provision of the Merger Agreement is the primary cause of the Offer Closing to fail to occur prior to the Outside Date (which we refer to as the “Outside Date Termination”); |
• | by GMS, at any time prior to the Offer Closing: |
• | in order for GMS to concurrently enter into an agreement with respect to a Superior Proposal, provided that GMS has complied with the notice and match provisions of the Merger Agreement in connection therewith and concurrently with such termination GMS pays to The Home Depot in immediately available funds the GMS Termination Fee (as defined below) (which we refer to as the “Superior Proposal Termination”); |
• | if any representation, warranty or covenant made by The Home Depot or Purchaser in the Merger Agreement is breached or fails to be true and such breach (i) is either not curable or, if curable, is not cured prior to the earlier of (x) the Outside Date and (y) the 30th day after written notice thereof is given by GMS to The Home Depot and (ii) would have a The Home Depot Material Adverse Effect (any such breach, we refer to as a “Purchaser Breach”); provided, however, that GMS is not then in breach of the Merger Agreement such that Representations Condition or the Obligations Condition would not be capable of being satisfied as of such date; or |
• | by The Home Depot, at any time prior to the Offer Closing: |
• | if any representation, warranty or covenant of GMS in the Merger Agreement is breached or fails to be true and (i) such breach or inaccuracy would result in the Representations Condition or the Obligations Condition not being satisfied and (ii) such breach is either not curable or, if curable, is not cured prior to the earlier of (x) the Outside Date and (y) the 30th day after written notice thereof is given by The Home Depot to GMS; provided, however, that there does not then exist any Purchaser Breach; or |
• | if the Board of Directors of GMS effects a Change of Recommendation or if GMS is in material breach of the provisions related to Acquisition Proposals. |
• | the Merger Agreement is terminated by The Home Depot pursuant to its right to terminate for a Change of Recommendation or a deliberate and material breach of the provisions of the Merger Agreement relating to Acquisition Proposals; |
• | the Merger Agreement is terminated by GMS in order to concurrently enter into an agreement with respect to a Superior Proposal; and |
• | (i) the Merger Agreement is terminated pursuant to an Outside Date Termination or a Superior Proposal Termination, (ii) an Acquisition Proposal (including a previously communicated Acquisition Proposal) has been publicly announced or otherwise communicated to the GMS Board of Directors and not publicly withdrawn at any time prior to the date of termination, and (iii) within twelve (12) months after the date of such termination, GMS enters into a definitive agreement to consummate, or consummates, any Acquisition Proposal, then GMS will pay to The Home Depot the GMS Termination Fee prior to entering into any definitive agreement with respect to consummating, as applicable, any Acquisition Proposal; provided, however, that for purposes of this provision, the references in the definition of Acquisition Proposal to “20% or more” will be deemed to be references to “more than 50%.” |
Purpose of the Offer; Plans for GMS. |
Certain Effects of the Offer. |
Dividends and Distributions. |
Conditions to the Offer. |
(A) | any waiting period (or extension thereof) applicable to the Offer under (i) the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (which, together with the rules and regulations thereunder, we refer to as the “HSR Act”), and (ii) the Competition Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-34), as amended and including the regulations promulgated thereunder (which we refer to as the “Canadian Competition Act”), and any agreement (including any timing agreement) with any Government Entity (as defined below) not to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement for some period of time has expired or been terminated (which we refer to as the “Antitrust Law Condition”); |
(B) | (i) the representations and warranties of GMS set forth in Article IV of the Merger Agreement (other than in Section 4.1(a) (Organization, Good Standing and Qualification), Section 4.2 (other than Section 4.2(d)) (Capital Structure), Section 4.3 (Corporate Authority; Approvals; Opinion of the Company’s Financial Advisor), Sections 4.4(a) and 4.4(b)(i) (Governmental Filings), Section 4.7(b) (Absence of Certain Changes), Section 4.20 (Brokers and Finders), Section 4.21 (Antitakeover Statutes) and Section 4.23 (Merger Approval) of the Merger Agreement) are true and correct (without giving effect to any qualifications or limitations as to materiality or Company Material Adverse Effect set forth therein) both at and as of the date of the Merger Agreement and as of the Expiration Time as though made at and as of such time, except, in the case of this clause (i), for such failures to be true and correct that have not had or would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Company Material Adverse Effect; |
(C) | GMS has complied with, or performed, in all material respects its covenants required to be performed by or complied with by it under the Merger Agreement at or prior to the Expiration Time; |
(D) | The Home Depot has received a certificate signed on behalf of GMS by an executive officer of GMS and dated as of the date of the Expiration Time to the effect that the conditions set forth in clauses (B) and (C) above have been duly satisfied |
(E) | no domestic or foreign, federal, state or local governmental or regulatory body, commission, agency, court, instrumentality, authority or other legislative, executive, governmental or judicial entity (each of which we refer to as a “Governmental Entity”), in its capacity as such, has (i) enacted, issued, promulgated, enforced or entered any statute, rule, regulation, order, executive order, decree, judgment, injunction or other order (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) that is in effect or |
(F) | the Merger Agreement has not been terminated in accordance with its terms. |
Certain Legal Matters; Regulatory Approvals. |
Appraisal Rights. |
• | within the later of the consummation of the Offer and twenty (20) days after the mailing of the Schedule 14D-9, deliver to GMS a written demand for appraisal of Shares held, which demand must reasonably inform GMS of the identity of the stockholder or beneficial owner and that the stockholder or beneficial owner is demanding appraisal (and, in the case of a beneficial owner, the demand must reasonably identify the holder of record of the Shares for which demand is made and be accompanied by documentary evidence of such beneficial owner’s beneficial ownership of the Shares and a statement that such documentary evidence is a true and correct copy of what it purports to be and provide an address at which the beneficial owner consents to receive notices given by the Surviving Corporation and to be set forth on the verified list to be filed with the Delaware Register in Chancery); |
• | not tender such stockholder’s or beneficial owner’s Shares in the Offer (or, if tendered, validly and subsequently withdraw such Shares prior to the Expiration Time); |
• | continuously hold of record the Shares from the date on which the written demand for appraisal is made through the Effective Time; and |
• | comply with the procedures of Section 262 of the DGCL for perfecting appraisal rights thereafter. |
Fees and Expenses. |
Miscellaneous. |
Name | Age | Position | ||||
Edward P. Decker | 62 | Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
Gregory D. Brenneman | 63 | Lead Director | ||||
Gerard J. Arpey | 66 | Director | ||||
Ari Bousbib* | 64 | Director | ||||
Jeffery H. Boyd | 68 | Director | ||||
J. Frank Brown | 69 | Director | ||||
Wayne M. Hewett** | 60 | Director | ||||
Manuel Kadre | 59 | Director | ||||
Stephanie C. Linnartz | 57 | Director | ||||
Paula A. Santilli*** | 60 | Director | ||||
Caryn Seidman-Becker | 52 | Director | ||||
Asha Sharma | 36 | Director | ||||
William D. Bastek | 59 | Executive Vice President – Merchandising | ||||
Jordan Broggi | 41 | Executive Vice President – Customer Experience and President – Online | ||||
Angie Brown | 49 | Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer | ||||
Ann-Marie Campbell** | 60 | Senior Executive Vice President | ||||
John Deaton | 52 | Executive Vice President – Supply Chain and Product Development | ||||
Richard V. McPhail | 55 | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Hector Padilla**** | 50 | Executive Vice President – U.S. Stores and Operations | ||||
Teresa Wynn Roseborough | 66 | Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | ||||
Michael Rowe***** | 58 | Executive Vice President – Pro | ||||
Stephanie Smith | 48 | Executive Vice President – Human Resources | ||||
* | Citizen of the United States and France |
** | Citizen of the United States and Jamaica |
*** | Citizen of Argentina and Italy |
**** | Citizen of the United States and Dominican Republic |
***** | Citizen of Canada |
Name | Age | Position | ||||
Ann-Marie Campbell** | 60 | Director and President of Purchaser | ||||
Richard V. McPhail | 55 | Director, Vice President and Treasurer of Purchaser | ||||
Teresa Wynn Roseborough | 66 | Director, Vice President and Secretary of Purchaser | ||||
** | Citizen of the United States and Jamaica |
If delivering by mail: | If delivering by hand, express mail, courier, or other expedited service: | ||
Broadridge, Inc. Attention: BCIS Re-Organization Dept. P.O. Box 1317 Brentwood, NY 11717-0718 | Broadridge, Inc. Attention: BCIS IWS 51 Mercedes Way Edgewood, NY 11717 | ||