Ready for a new entrant in the wire business? Meet Nexans.

Nexans, worldwide a leader in the wire and cable industry and a name mentioned in the US but a niche player, is entering the market via the acquisition of Republic Wire and people are asking “what is their strategy.”

Nexans Acquires Republic Wire

According to Nexans’ press release,

“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.€520^1,2 million in current revenue. 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%.

Nexans’ 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 billion³, 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.€23¹ million in run-rate synergies 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^4,5, with a further earn-out of up to €43 million⁴ 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 enterprise value⁶ represents multiples of 10.3x 2027E Adjusted EBITDA⁵ 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 synergies⁷. Synergies are expected to reach full run-rate of c.€23 million⁴ over three years, with approximately 50% to be achieved in year one. Implementation costs are expected to amount to c.€23 million⁴.

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.

Julien Hueber, Chief Executive Officer of Nexans, said: “The acquisition of Republic Wire marks a transformative moment in Nexans’ journey to become a reference pure player in electrification. The United States represents the single largest growth opportunity in low‑ and medium‑voltage cable, within a premium business segment where quality and reliability drive sales. Republic Wire gives us the expanded platform, the customer relationships and the operational credibility we need to compete in this highly dynamic market. Combined with our recent complementary acquisition of Electro Cables in Canada, we are building an integrated North American business, expanding our industrial footprint in the Americas and reinforcing our positioning in high-growth segments such as data centers, that will serve as a growth engine for the Group for years to come. We are delighted to welcome the Republic Wire team and look forward to creating value together.”

Tim King, Managing Director North America of Nexans said: “The acquisition of Republic Wire represents an important strategic milestone, meaningfully strengthening our position in the North American market. As a highly respected brand with a proven track record of exceptional quality and customer centricity, Republic Wire brings deep market relationships and an extensive commercial network and strong industrial footprint that significantly enhances our ability to serve customers and partners.”

Ron Rosenbeck, CEO of Republic Wire said: ” Republic Wire has always been more than a business to our family – it is a legacy built on hard work, loyalty, and a deep responsibility to our customers and the people who chose to build their careers here. In Nexans, I found a partner who shares those values, not just a buyer. I take real comfort knowing the culture of respect, dedication and quality products we worked so hard to build will be in good hands as we move forward together. Our management team and I will remain actively involved going forward, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we have built together or more excited about what this partnership will mean for everyone who calls Republic Wire home.”

What Republic’s Acquisition of Nexans Could Mean

• Nexans is a $6.1 billion euro ($7.128 billion USD) company that operates in 41 states
• The recent acquired Electro Cables in Canada, a diversified wire and cable company. This was a $125 CSD company in 2025.
• So, with Republic’s $615 million (acquired for almost $800 million), Nexans’ North American distribution business is now a $740 million business and it cost them about a billion dollars. This is in addition to Nexans’ current US business where they are known for larger and specialized cables. Most large engineering companies, military and utilities certainly know them. Nexans has a facility in Charleston, SC where it manufacturers cable to serve the high-voltage transmission including high voltage subsea cable.
• In reviewing Republic’s website, they have reps in pockets throughout the country and the level of “support” various based upon distance (freight costs) and company capacity which can hinder being price competitive. While Republic recently increased their capacity, as a privately held business, there are, inevitably, “limits” to funding but, with Nexans, perhaps additional infrastructure investments could be coming.
• Republic was / is run by a father and son team. The acquisition agreement mentions an earn-out, which appears to be for 18 months or so. Enough time for transitioning the business to allow Nexans to determine future leadership, growth plans (acquisition, expansion, marketing / branding, investments, channel strategy, etc..)
  • For the family to optimize their return in what may have been an exit driven by estate planning or generational change, the alternatives become private equity or a limited group of strategics. The best case is to seek someone who wants to enter the market … and knows the product category so can add value. The $23 million euro in synergies, especially over 3 years, is nominal and incidental (but makes the finance people happy.)
  • To Nexans, the opportunity is to have access to the data center market and the 2nd largest electrical market in the world. This deal, while perhaps a nominal premium, is about “upside” for Nexans.
• Nexans was in the US distribution channel years ago and sought to service selected distributors. According to reports, when they could not get committed support across product categories, and hence meet their internal objectives, they eventually withdrew from the market. In essence they were trying to export a European sales model … which failed. These recent acquisitions infer that they are looking at the US market differently … as a growth strategy (after all, the US market is performing much better, with more opportunities, than Europe) and therefore they will need to understand, and develop (hence buy-in) to a channel strategy.
• It would not be a surprise to see Nexans seek to acquire additional wire / cable companies to either enhance capacity and broaden the product offering, especially if they want to be competitive with Southwire and Prysmian / Encore. While Cerro and Alan Wire are not as broad, product-wise, their volume is still significantly more than Republic’s … and they cover all (or much in the case of Alan) of the country.
• For reps that carry Republic, this could represent a significant opportunity but there could be some minefields depending upon Nexans’ future product strategy. Time will tell. Inevitably, Nexans will seek a much larger market share, and have much higher expectations (FYI, if you are not utilizing NEMRA’s 2025 Rep of the Future, Vision 20230 report as a roadmap, you may want to consider requesting … and its free to NEMRA members. Here’s a link to the Executive Summary, contact NEMRA for the full report.)

For the Republic ownership, a great opportunity. For their team, an exciting opportunity to be part of something much bigger. For the industry, the rise of a new player.

Will there be / who will be Nexans’ next target? What do you think this could mean for the wire / cable business 12-24 months from now?