February 26, 2026
LSI Industries to Acquire Royston in Largest-Ever Deal
Company on track to hit $800M revenue target two years early through M&A
LSI Industries has spent the better part of a decade methodically expanding beyond luminaires with bolt-on acquisitions. On Wednesday afternoon, after the closing bell, it made its most decisive announcement yet.
The Cincinnati-based manufacturer announced a definitive agreement to acquire Atlanta’s Royston Group for $325 million — the largest acquisition in LSI’s history — further cementing its push into integrated retail display solutions.
The numbers are substantial. Royston generated approximately $272 million in trailing twelve-month revenue through September 2025, with adjusted EBITDA of roughly $38 million, or 14.0% of sales. The deal values the business at 8.1x adjusted EBITDA, net of tax benefits. Pro forma combined revenue would total approximately $864 million, with adjusted EBITDA of about $95 million, lifting margins to roughly 11.0% versus LSI’s standalone 9.7%.
Notably, this move effectively accelerates LSI’s March 2023 “Fast Forward” plan, which had targeted $800 million in revenue and $100 million in adjusted EBITDA by fiscal 2028. At roughly $864 million in pro forma sales, the company will clear the revenue hurdle about two years ahead of schedule.
LSI has long operated with two business segments — once led by Lighting — but this transaction shifts the balance decisively, pushing the revenue mix to roughly two-thirds Display and one-third Lighting.
October Foreshadowing
Back in October, Inside Lighting noted that LSI Industries quietly loaded a $200 million shelf. In February, it reached for it.
LSI now plans a $90 million public stock offering to help finance its acquisition of Royston Group and address related credit commitments. With shares near historic highs, the timing appears calculated, but the move could have a negative short term impact on share price. As we pointed out in "5 Things to Know" a shelf filing is rarely routine. More often, it signals that management is eyeing a large, potential deal and intends to move.
A Platform Built for National Rollouts
Royston is not a niche tuck-in. It is a vertically integrated provider of custom store fixtures, interior and exterior signage, and refrigerated and heated display cases. It operates five facilities across four states and employs nearly 900 people. About 70% of its revenue last year came from remodel programs — the steady, recurring refresh cycles of gas stations, convenience stores and grocery chains.
Following the acquisition, more than 60% of LSI’s pro forma revenue will be tied to refueling, grocery and convenience-store operators. These are national-account customers operating thousands of locations — the kind that roll out lighting, graphics, fixtures and casework across entire portfolios at once.
LSI is betting that owning more of that scope matters.
A Pattern, Not a Pivot
This did not happen overnight.
Since 2017, LSI has assembled its platform piece by piece: Atlas Lighting Products ($97.5 million) in 2017 was its most recent Lighting segment acquisition. Then came JSI Store Fixtures ($90 million), EMI Industries ($50 million), and Canada’s Best Holdings ($24 million plus earnouts). With each transaction, the display segment grew more central to the thesis.
Royston is the logical extension — larger, more scaled, and more deeply embedded with top retail chains.
The acquisition expands LSI’s manufacturing footprint from 18 to 23 facilities and increases square footage capacity by nearly 40%. It also broadens the product set: lighting, branded graphics, store fixtures, signage, refrigerated cases — all under one corporate umbrella.
For a company long identified primarily with commercial lighting, the strategy is increasingly clear. LSI is not just selling illumination. It is assembling a one-stop retail environment platform designed for national programs, repeat remodel cycles and multi-category spend.
Royston makes that thesis unmistakable.
