Italian cable maker Prysmian acquires US electrical products company Atkore

Italian cablemaker Prysmian has agreed to buy US electrical products company Atkore for $3.8 billion. Prysmian will pay $95 per share in cash, which is around 23-30% more than Atkore's recent share price. Atkore is based in Illinois and employs about 5,400 people. The company earned $2.85 billion in revenue in its last financial year. Prysmian is already the world's largest cablemaker, and North America currently provides 40% of its revenue. The deal will make the combined company stronger in North American electrical infrastructure. Prysmian expects to save around $150 million annually within three years by combining operations. Growing demand for electricity and data centres, partly driven by AI, has made this kind of infrastructure business more valuable.