Prysmian Group

About

Prysmian Group's story is one of enduring innovation and strategic evolution, tracing its origins back to 1879 with the founding of Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi. This early iteration of the company quickly established itself, securing a contract in 1881 to produce submarine telegraph cables for military engineering and opening a dedicated submarine cable production plant in La Spezia in 1886. The company played a pivotal role in developing Italy's infrastructure, laying the national telegraph network and installing Milan's electrical grid. Its international reach was evident even then, with projects like laying telegraph cables in Italian East Africa and producing 5,150 km of submarine telegraph cabling for Italcable in 1925 to connect Italy with South America. The modern Prysmian Group began to take shape in 2005 when Goldman Sachs acquired Pirelli & C. S.p.A.'s Cables and Systems business, creating Prysmian S.r.l. This marked a new chapter, with Valerio Battista leading the company, which later became a public entity. A significant milestone in its growth was the successful takeover bid for the Dutch company Draka in 2011, a major player in the cable and optical fibre sector. This merger solidified Prysmian's global standing. The company's expansion continued with the strategic acquisition of the American competitor General Cable in 2017. This nearly three-billion-dollar transaction, encompassing equity and financial debt, united the world's leading cable-making company (Prysmian) with the fourth largest (General Cable), creating a formidable group with a significantly expanded global footprint, revenue, and workforce. Today, Prysmian Group stands as a world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, driving the energy transition and worldwide digitalization with a presence in over 50 countries, numerous production plants, and a dedicated global team.