Italy's Prysmian Nears All-Cash Deal for Illinois-Based Atkore, Sources Say

Prysmian, the Milan-based cable giant, is in advanced talks to buy Atkore Inc., the Illinois electrical manufacturer, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. A deal could be announced within days, though the people cautioned talks could still fall apart or get delayed.

Atkore, headquartered in Harvey, Illinois, makes the wiring and conduit systems that route and protect electrical infrastructure. Bloomberg reports the company carries a market value of roughly $2.5 billion, with shares up about 15% this year. Prysmian is far bigger, valued around €36.3 billion, with its own stock up more than a third in 2026.

The deal reportedly would be all-cash. No price has been disclosed publicly, and neither company has confirmed the talks. A Prysmian representative declined to comment when Bloomberg asked. Atkore's representative could not be immediately reached.

Why Atkore Was For Sale

Atkore announced last November it was working with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase to review strategic options, including an outright sale, according to Bloomberg. That review came under pressure from Irenic Capital Management, an activist investor pushing for changes.

Activist investors get a mixed reputation. Some conservatives see them as Wall Street vultures forcing companies into short-term moves. Others see them as the market doing exactly what it's supposed to do: holding management accountable to shareholders instead of letting a board coast. Either read is legitimate here. Irenic pushed, the board responded by hiring bankers, and eight months later a buyer showed up.

Prysmian's US Buying Spree

This wouldn't be Prysmian's first big US bet. Bloomberg notes the company bought Encore Wire two years ago for almost €4 billion, the largest deal in Prysmian's history, then followed that with Channell Commercial Corp. for around €1 billion about a year later.

CEO Massimo Battaini told Bloomberg Television in May that Prysmian was scouting for another deal worth roughly €4 billion in enterprise value. An Atkore acquisition would fit that pattern of aggressive US expansion.

Prysmian is also chasing the AI data-center boom. In July, the company signed an agreement worth as much as €5.5 billion to supply Koch Inc.'s Molex unit with optical cables for data centers, according to Bloomberg. Electrical infrastructure demand tied to AI buildout is clearly part of the calculation behind an Atkore deal too, since Atkore's conduit and wiring products feed directly into that same construction pipeline.

Prysmian was carved out of tiremaker Pirelli back in 2005 and has been building itself into a US-market player ever since. Battaini has also said the company is planning a dual listing in the United States, calling it a "top priority" without giving Bloomberg a timetable.

What's Actually Confirmed and What Isn't

None of this is finalized. Bloomberg's sourcing is people familiar with the matter, not an official announcement from either company. No regulatory filing has been made public, no purchase price confirmed, and no shareholder vote scheduled.

What is confirmed: Atkore has been actively seeking a buyer since last November with two major banks running the process. That's public record, disclosed by the company itself.

The open question is price and terms, and whether this clears any foreign-investment review given Atkore's role in critical electrical infrastructure. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reviews certain foreign acquisitions of US companies, though it's unclear from available reporting whether this deal would trigger that review or whether Prysmian, as an Italian company and NATO ally, would face the same scrutiny a Chinese or Russian buyer might.

If the deal is announced in the coming days as Bloomberg's sources suggest, the next real test is whether US regulators treat an Italian buyer of American electrical infrastructure as routine, or whether anyone in Washington raises a flag. Nothing in current reporting indicates any government review has been opened.