WESCO International, Inc. and Anixter International Inc. announced Monday that WESCO will acquire Anixter under a definitive merger agreement unanimously approved by the companies’ boards of directors.
WESCO is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. and provides electrical, industrial and communications MRO and OEM products, construction materials, advanced supply chain management, and logistics services. Anixter is a global distributor of network and security solutions, electrical and electronic solutions, and utility power solutions and is headquartered near Chicago, Ill.
“The transformational combination of WESCO and Anixter will create a premier electrical and data communications distribution and supply chain services company,” WESCO Chairman, President and CEO John J. Engel said. “With increased scale and complementary capabilities, we will be ideally positioned to digitize our business, expand our extensive services portfolio and supply chain offerings, and deliver solutions to our customers whenever and wherever they need them around the globe.”
The transaction is valued at approximately $4.5 billion. It is subject to approval by Anixter stockholders, receipt of regulatory approval in the United States, Canada, and other foreign jurisdictions, as well as other customary closing conditions. The companies expect to complete the transaction during the second or third quarter of 2020.
“This is the result of a very thorough process to determine the value of our company,” Bill Galvin, Anixter’s president and CEO, said. “It’s also a recognition of the enormous value created by our talented people, Anixter’s deep industry relationships, innovative technology solutions, and global reach. Looking ahead, the combination with WESCO will allow the combined company to build on our complementary capabilities and create new ways to serve customers and partners.”
Anixter’s previous agreement to be acquired by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, LLC (CD&R) was terminated after CD&R waived its matching rights under the agreement.