C.H. Robinson Worldwide, the largest freight broker in the United States, announced on Monday that it will acquire rival RXO in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at about $5.8 billion — the biggest deal in the U.S. truck brokerage industry in recent years, creating a combined logistics company with an enterprise value exceeding $25 billion.
Under the agreement, RXO shareholders will receive $17.25 in cash plus 0.0856 shares of C.H. Robinson for each RXO share, implying total consideration of $30.25 per share — a 29% premium to RXO's closing price on October 2 and a 27% premium to its 90-day volume-weighted average price. Shareholders can instead elect an all-cash option of $30.25 per share or an all-stock option of 0.1992 C.H. Robinson shares. RXO shareholders are expected to own about 11% of the combined company, with roughly 57% of the total consideration paid in cash and 43% in stock.
The combined company would rank as the world's fifth-largest third-party logistics provider by revenue and be more than twice the size of its next-largest competitor in the U.S. domestic freight brokerage sector, according to Armstrong & Associates. Its network would span roughly 93,000 shippers and 600,000 carriers. C.H. Robinson was already by far the nation's biggest freight broker, managing more than 37 million shipments last year with $16.2 billion in revenue. RXO will be folded primarily into C.H. Robinson's North American Surface Transportation unit, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the company's revenue.
C.H. Robinson said it expects about $300 million in net run-rate cost synergies within two years of closing, and expects the deal to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share within nine months. The company plans to extend its lean, AI-driven operating model across RXO to lift productivity, cut cost-to-serve, consolidate shared services and optimize third-party spending. Truist Securities analyst Lucas Servera noted in a report that the acquisition gives C.H. Robinson the chance to apply that operating framework across a substantially larger platform. Morgan Stanley advised C.H. Robinson; Goldman Sachs advised RXO.
CEO Dave Bozeman said the acquisition will expand the company's expedited and last-mile delivery capabilities. RXO brings a deep customer base of retail, packaging and electronics shippers, and the combination should give C.H. Robinson greater buying power for trucking capacity. "This transaction is a natural next step in our transformation, allowing us to create a more scaled, resilient North American third-party logistics provider," Bozeman said. Analysts say the deal lands at a moment of strain: a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year exposed brokers to lawsuits over crashes involving contracted carriers, record diesel prices are squeezing margins, and the freight market remains challenging — all of which could accelerate industry consolidation.
After the announcement, RXO shares surged about 25% in intraday trading while C.H. Robinson fell roughly 10%, as investors weighed the promised scale benefits against the premium paid and the execution risk of integration. Evan Armstrong of Armstrong & Associates said that if C.H. Robinson hits its synergy targets, mid-sized brokers such as TQL and J.B. Hunt will find it significantly harder to compete on price.
The deal has been unanimously approved by both boards and is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory clearance and approval by RXO shareholders. Once complete, RXO's brokerage, expedited and last-mile operations will be integrated into C.H. Robinson's platform, giving the combined company a new edge in winning large corporate customers.