Rexel S.A. (RXEEY) Shareholder/Analyst Call Transcript

Rexel S.A. ( RXEEY ) Shareholder/Analyst Call September 25, 2026 12:15 PM EDT Company Participants Guillaume Jean Texier - CEO & Director Laurent Delabarre - Group Chief Financial Officer - Leading the China & India Cluster Conference Call Participants Daniela Costa - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division William Mackie - Kepler Cheuvreux, Research Division Akash Gupta - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division Marnix Guillot Aron Ceccarelli - BofA Securities, Research Division George Featherstone - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division Eric Lemarié - CIC CIB, Research Division Presentation Guillaume Jean Texier CEO & Director Good evening, everyone, and thank you for joining us on such a short notice. I am here with Laurent Delabarre, our CFO, to comment on the acquisition announcement that was issued earlier today and answer any questions you may have. So as you have read, we entered into an agreement with Audax Private Equity to acquire GCG, a U.S.-based specialty infrastructure platform. This is the fourth acquisition of Rexel this year and also the most important one in a long time. But more importantly, we see that as an important strategic move for Rexel, and this is what I would like to detail before Laurent covers the financing of this transaction. So let me right away start on Slide 2 with the strategic why. This transaction is really at the heart of 3 transformations we have strived to push to make Rexel a high-performing company. First, it strengthens our position on markets and geographies that are a high priority for us. We are strongly reinforcing our U.S. footprint and leadership with solid growth potential, adding a platform of about $1.1 billion in sales. Following completion of the transaction, North America will represent for the first time, more than 50% of the group turnover. As a reminder, in 2021, this figure was 35%. We