IN Brief:
- Nexans has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Republic Wire, a US low-voltage copper and aluminium wire manufacturer.
- The transaction values Republic Wire at around €680m, with a further earn-out of up to €43m potentially payable in 2028.
- The deal expands Nexans’ North American platform across electrical distribution, utilities, municipalities, commercial buildings, and data centres.
Nexans has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Republic Wire, expanding its presence in the US low-voltage cable market.
Republic Wire is a family-owned manufacturer of low-voltage copper and aluminium wire products headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1982, the company supplies electrical wholesale distributors, utilities, municipalities, rural utility customers, and investor-owned utilities across the United States and Canada.
Over the 12 months to February 2026, Republic Wire generated around €520m in current revenue. The business operates a 32,500m² manufacturing facility with significant automation and a newly completed 30,000m² warehouse and distribution centre. It employs more than 200 people and has recently completed an expansion programme that is expected to be fully online by the end of 2026, increasing production capacity by around 30%.
The transaction represents a total enterprise value of around €680m, with a further earn-out of up to €43m potentially payable in 2028 based on performance through the end of 2027. Republic Wire’s current management team, led by Ron and Jeremy Rosenbeck, will remain in place after completion.
Nexans expects the transaction to close early in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The company plans to maintain Republic Wire’s operations at its existing Ohio facilities and use the combined platform to support its US activities.
The acquisition gives Nexans a stronger position in one of the world’s largest low- and medium-voltage cable markets. The US low-voltage segment is estimated at around €12bn and is being driven by sustained demand from residential construction, commercial buildings, utilities, municipalities, and data-centre expansion.
The deal also complements Nexans’ recent acquisition of Electro Cables in Canada, giving the group a broader North American base for low-voltage products. Nexans intends to use Republic Wire’s sales agent and distributor network to access residential and commercial channels, while also expanding its own medium-voltage and grid solutions offering into higher-growth verticals.
Synergies are expected to reach around €23m over three years, with approximately half delivered in the first year. Nexans has identified commercial cross-selling, manufacturing technology deployment, purchasing scale, manufacturing mutualisation, and operating efficiencies as the main sources of value.
Cable supply has become a critical industrial constraint in electrification. Grid reinforcement, building electrification, EV charging, data-centre power infrastructure, renewable connections, and industrial expansion all require secure access to low- and medium-voltage cable products. Manufacturers with local production, established distributors, and automated capacity are becoming more strategically important.
Data centres are a particularly strong demand driver. As AI workloads and cloud infrastructure expand, electrical systems inside and around data-centre campuses are becoming larger, more complex, and more power-dense. Low-voltage cable demand sits alongside medium-voltage distribution, switchgear, transformers, backup power systems, and grid connections as part of a wider electrical infrastructure build-out.
The Republic Wire acquisition gives Nexans a US operating platform with established production, warehousing, and distribution relationships. It strengthens the group’s position in a market where electrification demand is becoming more localised, more supply-chain sensitive, and more dependent on reliable cable capacity.