Southwire buys rival U.S. wire, cable maker for $492 million

Southwire Co, one of the biggest U.S. electrical wire and cable makers, has agreed to buy smaller U.S. rival Coleman Cable Inc (CCIX.O) for about $492 million, it said on Friday, expanding its footprint in the North American market.

The deal will increase Southwire's share of the automotive, construction and power market and give the Carrollton, Georgia-based company access to new products such as wiring for power transformers.

Privately held Southwire's offer of $26.25 per share is at a premium of about 7 percent to Coleman stock's Thursday close.

Including Coleman's debt, the deal is valued at about $786 million.

Coleman, which is based in Waukegan, Illinois, expects to report sales this year of between $910 million and $935 million, it said in November, compared with $915 million in 2012.

Analysts expect U.S. demand for electrical wiring used in housing and building to rise next year as the construction sector continues its slow steady recovery from the global economic crisis of 2008. The automotive sector also continues to grow.

Copper fabricators results have been mixed recently as they struggle with volatile prices of copper.

Coleman has manufacturing in plants in North America and an engineering and sourcing office in Zhenzhen, China.

It makes electrical and electronic wire and cable products for residential and commercial construction, industrial, OEM, and consumer applications, with operations in the United States, Honduras, and Canada.

Coleman which was founded 40 years ago, has bought six companies since 2007, according to its website.

Coleman's management team will join Southwire after the deal closes, expected in the first quarter of 2014, Coleman said.

Macquarie Capital and Wells Fargo Securities are Southwire's financial advisers. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is the legal adviser. Jefferies LLC is the financial adviser to Coleman, while Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Winston & Strawn LLP are serving as legal advisers.

(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bangalore and Josephine Mason in New York; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and David Gregorio)

2013/12/21 15:04:59 Source：reuters

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