Nexans to acquire Republic Wire, establishing a strategic platform in the United States

• Nexans significantly expands its presence in the attractive and strategic low voltage business in the U.S. through the acquisition of Republic Wire, a high-quality asset with a well-established nationwide sales network.

• Transaction complements Nexans' existing North American footprint, creating a compelling growth platform in the U.S.

Nexans today announced that it has signed an agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Republic Wire, Inc. ("Republic Wire"), an established American manufacturer of low-voltage copper and aluminum wire products headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Founded in 1982 and family-owned, Republic Wire is a recognized manufacturer of low-voltage wiring products serving electrical wholesale distributors, utilities and municipalities across the United States and Canada. Over the 12 month period through February 2026, Republic Wire generated c.€520 million in current revenue (FX rate USD to EUR of 0.86; in accordance with US GAAP). The company operates a fully invested industrial platform comprising a 32.5k square meters manufacturing facility equipped with significant automation, and a newly completed 30k square meters warehouse and distribution center. Republic Wire employs over 200 highly skilled associates and recently completed a significant expansion program that will be fully online by the end of 2026, increasing its production capacity by approximately 30%.

Strategic rationale

The acquisition of Republic Wire is an important step in Nexans' strategy to expand its geographic footprint to the United States, one of the world's largest markets and among the fastest-growing for low- and medium-voltage cables. The U.S. low-voltage segment, estimated at c.€12 billion (Roland Berger February 2026 Market Study), is mainly driven by sustained demand across residential, commercial and data center expansion.

The acquisition of Republic Wire is perfectly consistent with Nexans' strategy and will allow Nexans to:

• Establish an expanded manufacturing and distribution platform in the high-growth U.S. geography, complementing the recent acquisition of Electro Cables in Canada;
• Access residential and commercial channels through Republic Wire's strong sales agent and distributor network, building on Nexans’ proven global distributor relationships and benefitting from Nexans' broader complementary product portfolio into additional high-growth verticals, including data centers;
• Create a platform for future organic and inorganic growth across the U.S., ensuring that the Group will benefit through the cycle from structural growth in the region; and
• Generate c.€23 million in run-rate synergies (FX rate USD to EUR of 0.86) within 3 years, driven by commercial cross-selling opportunities rolling out Nexans' comprehensive product offering in medium-voltage and grid solutions, technology synergies through the deployment of Nexans' proprietary manufacturing IP, and industrial synergies through purchasing scale, manufacturing mutualization and efficiency.

Financial highlights

The transaction represents a total enterprise value of c.€680 million (FX rate USD to EUR of 0.86; in accordance with US GAAP), with a further earn-out of up to €43 million (FX rate USD to EUR of 0.86) potentially payable in 2028 based on performance through year end 2027. The current management team, led by Ron and Jeremy Rosenbeck, is remaining in place and will continue to drive the business performance.

At the terms of the transaction, the implied enterprise value (before earn-out), represents multiples of 10.3x 2027E Adjusted EBITDA (in accordance with US GAAP) before synergies and 7.6x after run-rate synergies. There is also the potential for the transaction structure to provide tax benefits to Nexans over time.

The transaction will be financed through a combination of debt and existing cash on balance sheet. On a pro forma basis, Nexans' net leverage is expected to rise to approximately 1.2x Net Debt to 2025 Adjusted EBITDA, returning to comfortably below 1.0x through rapid deleveraging by the end of 2028, in keeping with our disciplined financial policy.

The transaction is expected to be immediately EPS accretive before synergies (before amortization of intangibles and implementation costs). Synergies are expected to reach full run-rate of c.€23 million (FX rate USD to EUR of 0.86) over three years, with approximately 50% to be achieved in year one. Implementation costs are expected to amount to c.€23 million (FX rate USD to EUR of 0.86).

Timeline and approvals

The transaction is expected to close early in the third quarter of 2026, subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Following completion, Republic Wire's experienced management team will continue to lead the business, supported by an earn-out structure designed to ensure alignment of interests and a successful ownership transition.

Nexans expects to maintain Republic Wire's operations at its existing Ohio facilities and utilize the combined platform to support its activities in the United States.

Advisors

PJT Partners is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Nexans; White & Case LLP is acting as legal advisor.