Carrier watch

C.H. Robinson to acquire RXO in deal valuing each RXO share at $30.25

C.H. Robinson will pay $17.25 a share in cash plus 0.856 of its own shares for each RXO share — a $30.25-a-share valuation at Friday's close — in a deal announced Monday morning.

By CDLWire · Published October 5, 2026 · Updated October 5, 2026, 5:07 PM CT

Summarized from FreightWaves.

Semi trucks parked in a freight terminal yard under morning light with a brokerage operations office in the background

C.H. Robinson, the country's biggest 3PL, is acquiring RXO in a deal announced Monday morning, according to FreightWaves on Oct. 5.

Under the terms, RXO shareholders will receive $17.25 per share in cash plus 0.856 shares of C.H. Robinson stock for each RXO share. Based on C.H. Robinson's Friday closing price of $157.72, that puts the value of each RXO share at $30.25. In premarket trading at about 7:20 a.m. after the announcement, C.H. Robinson shares fell 4.89% to $150, a drop of $7.72, while RXO jumped 21.86% to $28.49, a gain of $5.11. RXO had already climbed $2.02, or 9.46%, on Friday to close at $23.38.

C.H. Robinson said the deal brings together two complementary networks and diversifies its multi-modal platform, combining both companies' trucking brokerage and managed transportation businesses with its global forwarding and RXO's strengths in expedited and last mile. FreightWaves labeled the story developing, so expect more detail as the terms are digested.

Source: FreightWaves

Update — October 5, 2026, 5:07 PM CT.

New details on the deal emerged Monday afternoon, according to Transport Topics on Oct. 5. The cash-and-stock transaction values RXO at about $5.8 billion — a 29% premium to RXO's Oct. 2 closing price — and is expected to close in the first half of 2027, at which point RXO shareholders would own 11% of the combined company. C.H. Robinson will finance the cash portion with new debt through a fully underwritten bridge facility from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding; Morgan Stanley advised C.H. Robinson and Goldman Sachs advised RXO. If the deal falls apart under certain conditions, RXO would owe C.H. Robinson a $175 million termination fee.

Transport Topics also reported the market reaction Monday morning: RXO shares surged 23% by 9:38 a.m. while C.H. Robinson fell 10%. C.H. Robinson plans to apply its AI-driven operating model across the combined platform to extract $300 million in cost savings within two years. The deal lands amid heightened brokerage-liability concerns: the Supreme Court ruled in May that brokers can face negligent-hiring claims in state court, and a Dallas County jury later awarded $604 million in an advisory decision in a case involving a carrier C.H. Robinson had hired. CEO Dave Bozeman predicted the ruling would accelerate consolidation in freight brokerage.

Source: Transport Topics