Lowe’s to Buy Canada’s Rona

Chris Beytes

Lowe’s has put in a $2.3 billion bid to purchase Rona, Canada’s DIY chain based in Quebec.

Rona has 236 company-owned stores and more than 500 total stores of various sizes across Canada, including some small outlet stores that serve rural areas. Lowe’s has 42 stores in Canada.

This is Lowe’s second effort to take over the Canadian chain. In 2012, their unfriendly takeover bid was blocked by the Quebec government. There’s opposition to this bid as well, coming from one political party. But if the deal goes through, Lowe’s and Rona will become Canada’s biggest DIY retailer with $4.1 billion in sales. (Canadian Tire, which is not a DIY chain, is still three times larger, at $12.5 billion.) GT