Rexel plans to acquire a leading U.S. distributor of wire, cable and connectivity products, company officials said Friday.
The French electrical distribution giant reached an agreement with Audax Private Equity to buy GCG, a provider of specialty distribution and advanced services for a range of end markets, including infrastructure, utilities, defense, power and data centers.
GCG, originally formed from part of Genuine Parts Company’s former electrical business in 2019, operates 16 locations worldwide and is projected to record revenues of over $1.1 billion this year, officials said. Since its formation, it has acquired United Wire & Cable, CableMaster, RWL, Paige, and Allied Wire & Cable, among other companies.
Rexel said that the transaction would value GCG at about $1.4 billion; the company intends to finance the purchase through a mix of existing cash on hand and debt, and plans to raise additional equity to preserve its credit rating and debt to adjusted earnings ratio. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending approval by regulators and other closing conditions.
Rexel’s board has unanimously approved the acquisition. The company said in the announcement that the deal would position it at “the center of several powerful mega trends reshaping the global economy and its electrification.”
“It significantly expands our addressable market, strengthening our position in key, fast-growing segments,” Rexel CEO Guillaume Texier said in a statement. “It moves Rexel into higher-value parts of the infrastructure value chain and creates a more complete offering across electrical power and digital connectivity.”
GCG CEO Glenn Pennycook added in a statement that the company is “excited about what the future holds as we embark on our next chapter as part of Rexel.”
“Over the past several years, our team has transformed GCG into one of the leading platforms in our space serving some of the fastest-growing end markets in industrial distribution," Pennycook said.
