Key Highlights

  • Reliance Worldwide reported lower FY26 profit and suspended its Dividend and buy-back.
  • A binding Scheme Implementation Deed with Brookfield was signed on 16 September 2026.
  • The cash price is US$3.38 per share, with shareholders able to elect payment in Australian or US dollars.
  • dollar equivalent moves with the Exchange Rate and is not fixed.

How should investors read a company that reported lower profit for FY2026, suspended its dividend and buy-back, and then agreed to a cash Takeover from Brookfield? Reliance Worldwide Corporation (ASX:RWC), the plumbing products maker behind brands such as SharkBite, is now mainly a story about a scheme of arrangement, though its underlying trading and the terms of the offer both deserve a careful look. The period-specific figures provide context for the company’s operating performance and execution priorities.

The central development: the Brookfield scheme

On 18 August 2026, alongside its full-year result, RWC disclosed an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Brookfield Capital Partners at A$4.75 per share, and said it had entered a process deed. On 16 September 2026 the company announced a binding Scheme Implementation Deed.

A cash price of US$3.38 per share, described as about A$4.75 at the exchange rate then prevailing. Shareholders can elect to be paid in Australian or US dollars at implementation. The later article on 19 October 2026 gave an Australian dollar equivalent of A$4.87, so the local value moves with the exchange rate and is not fixed.

Premiums of about 43% to the six-month volume-weighted average price, 32.7% to the three-month VWAP and 31.5% to the undisturbed price, with an Enterprise value of about US$2.9 billion and an implied multiple of about 12.1 times FY26 EV/EBITDA (post-AASB 16).

A go-shop period to 15 October 2026. On 19 October the company reported that no alternative proposals had been received, and the board unanimously recommended the scheme, subject to no superior proposal and the independent expert concluding it is in shareholders' best interests.

A break fee of US$25.3 million, with a reverse break fee on the same terms, applying after the go-shop.

Conditions including Shareholder and court approval and regulatory clearances such as FIRB, the ACCC and authorities in the US, Germany and Ukraine.

A ticking fee payable to shareholders if completion slips past March 2027.

The two articles give slightly different timing. The 19 October piece said the Scheme Booklet is due in early November 2026, the meeting in early to mid-December 2026 and implementation in late December 2026, while the 16 September piece targeted implementation in the first quarter of 2027.

FY2026 results

Net sales of US$1,305.6 million, down 0.7% (adjusted net sales up 1.5% in constant currency).

Adjusted EBITDA of US$242.1 million, down 12.8%, and adjusted net profit after tax of US$125.1 million, down 15.3%.

Reported net profit after tax of US$6.3 million, including US$103.3 million of post-tax one-off items, mainly restructuring charges from rationalising Australian metals manufacturing.

No final dividend, and the buy-back suspended because of the takeover proposal.

Business model and Revenue drivers

RWC designs and sells plumbing connection and control products, including push-to-connect fittings, valves and water-management products, through wholesalers, merchants and retailers across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. Revenue tracks housing repair, remodelling and construction activity, while margins depend on input costs, particularly copper and brass, pricing and tariffs. The company said US tariffs, higher copper costs, cost Inflation and weaker Demand in the US, UK and broader Americas and EMEA regions weighed on FY2026 earnings. The Tariff impact was not quantified in the company update.

Outlook and guidance

Management said it does not expect significant improvement in its main markets in FY2027. It is targeting mid-to-high single-digit sales growth, supported by new products and price increases, with an EBITDA Margin broadly in line with FY2026. That is a management target, and the company said geopolitical tension and US trade policy could keep input costs and demand under pressure. If the Brookfield deal does not proceed, the board indicated it may consider a dividend or restarting the buy-back in 2027.

Sector and competitive position

Plumbing products are a mature, Brand and channel-driven market. RWC's push-to-connect category has benefited from the shift away from soldered copper joints, and it competes with large building-products groups and regional specialists. (This competitive description is general knowledge and is not drawn from the cited articles.) Its challenges are cyclical housing demand and the pass-through of tariff and metal costs.

Material risks and considerations

Deal risk: shareholder, court and regulatory approvals are required, and a superior proposal remains possible in principle, though none emerged in the go-shop.

Currency: dollar value depends on exchange rates unless USD payment is elected.

Bottom line

RWC's FY2026 result was weaker, and no dividend was declared, but the Investment case has been reshaped by a recommended cash offer.