Renewal and appointment on Nexans Board of Directors

Upon recommendation of the Appointments and Corporate Governance Committee, the Nexans Board of Directors has resolved today to propose to the shareholders’ meeting to be held on May 16th, 2024: (i) the renewal of Jane Basson as an independent director and (ii) the appointment of Tamara de Gruyter as an independent director succeeding to Sylvie Jéhanno who is leaving the Board due to her increasing other engagements.

In addition, Tamara de Gruyter is appointed Censor, effective today. In such role she will attend all Board of Directors meetings and be bound by the same obligations as directors.

Tamara de Gruyter is President Portfolio Business and member of the executive board at Wärtsilä, a leading company in Finland.

She began her career in 1996 at LIPS which was acquired in 2002 by Wärtsilä. Tamara held various managerial positions within the company both in the Marine as well as Services Business. She had been Managing Director for 2 joint-ventures in China as well as for Wärtsilä’s pump business in Singapore. Upon returning to Europe, she has held various Vice President positions before becoming Chief Transformation Officer end of 2019. Tamara has been a member of Wärtsilä’s executive board since 2020 as President of Marine Systems and Head of Portfolio Business. Since January 1st, 2024, Tamara took up the role of President Portfolio Business. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Combient Oy.

Tamara is a graduate of the Haarlem Polytechnic and holds a Bachelor in Shipbuilding Engineering.

In addition, the European Work Council has appointed Elisabetta Iaconantonio, General Accounting Specialist at the Pioltello site in Italy, as Director representing employees, succeeding to Bjorn Erik Nyborg. The Board of Directors thanks Bjorn Erik for his engagement over the past years, welcomes Elisabetta and wishes her every success in her new role.

• Nexans secures first call-off under 2GW TenneT framework agreement
• The project involves the EPCI of HVDC cables for the BalWin3 and LanWin4 offshore grid connection systems. Transmitting in total 4 Gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy from the North Sea to Wilhelmshaven in Germany (Lower Saxony).
• This key project reinforces Nexans’ position as a leader in the European offshore wind market

Nexans, leader in the design and manufacturing of cable systems and services has secured the first call-off under the TenneT framework agreement awarded in April 2023.

This project involves the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (EPCI) of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables for the BalWin3 and LanWin4 grid connection systems. Transmitting in total 4 Gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy from the North Sea to Wilhelmshaven in Germany (Lower Saxony).

Nexans will be utilizing its new 525 kV HVDC XLPE cable technology and implementing an innovative “four bundle” cable laying method for the first time in the Group’s history for the project installed by its new cable laying vessel.

Nexans announces today the success of a bond issuance for an aggregate principal amount of EUR 350 million with a 6-year maturity and an annual interest rate of 4.25%.

This transaction has been welcomed by a diversified base of institutional fixed income investors in France and abroad and four times oversubscribed. The strong demand allowed Nexans to tighten a low coupon for a 6-year maturity with regard to market conditions.

Nexans seizes the opportunity offered by a favorable and well-oriented market environment to refinance in advance its outstanding EUR 200 million 2.75% bonds due April 5, 2024. The remaining part of the net proceeds will be allocated to general corporate purposes.

The bond is rated BB+ by Standard & Poor’s and is admitted to trading on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris as from its issue date.

• Nexans has taken a significant leap forward in its electrification strategy by signing an agreement to acquire the iconic Italian company La Triveneta Cavi, with recognized excellence in the European medium- and low-voltage cable segments, employing 700 people across 4 production units and generating above 800 million euros in sales.
• The Group will leverage its integrated business model and proven integration capabilities to accelerate La Triveneta Cavi’s growth in the building wire, fire-retardant and renewable energy sectors.

Nexans announces the signing of a landmark agreement to acquire iconic La Triveneta Cavi, with recognized excellence within the European medium- and low-voltage segments. Based in Italy, La Triveneta Cavi primarily manufactures low-voltage cables for building, infrastructure, fire-retardant cable systems and renewable applications across 30 countries.

Founded in 1965 by Ermenegildo Scalabrin, Gastone Massignan and Bruno Gobetti, the company employs a workforce of approximately 700 people and generated current revenues of more than 800 million euros over the last twelve months. La Triveneta Cavi operates a vertically integrated and best-in-class industrial footprint in Italy, including three cable production units featuring efficient logistical capabilities in Brendola and Tolentino, as well as one in-house copper drawing facility in Montecchio Maggiore.

Outstanding strategic benefits of this transaction include:

• Strategy execution: The proposed acquisition is a significant leap forward in Nexans’ strategy to become an electrification pure player, adding a widely recognized player with a long standing tradition of best-in-class innovation and industrial platforms, as well as a highly experienced management team with a strong track record.
• Customers benefits: Enhancing Nexans’ building cable portfolio to address the major market shift toward fire safety: global demand for fire safety cables is expected to grow at a c.+13% CAGR over the 2021-2030 period. Demand will continue to be supported by new safety regulations, electricity demand growth, and new build and renovation trends. Nexans will further develop La Triveneta Cavi’s experience in fire-retardant capabilities to expand the Group’s global fire safety offer.
• A high-value transaction for Nexans’ shareholders: The addition of La Triveneta Cavi will generate synergies and thereby value for shareholders. These synergies are expected to be captured through the integration of La Triveneta Cavi’s operations into Nexans, along with the deployment of Nexans’ proven proprietary programs, SHIFT Performance and SHIFT Prime, to enhance customer centricity and value-added solutions.

The transaction represents an acquisition multiple of 5.6x La Triveneta Cavi’s 2023 EBITDA pre-synergies and 4.6x post-synergies and will be high-single-digit accretive to earnings per share (EPS) from year one. Nexans’ financing of the acquisition will have limited impact on leverage.

Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

• Nexans received a prestigious ‘A’ score from CDP, reflecting its steadfast commitment to climate action and environmental transparency.
• Nexans sees positive shifts in EcoVadis and maintains its ‘A’ rating with MSCI, showcasing the company’s dedication to continuous improvement.

Nexans, a leader in the design and manufacturing of cable systems and services, has been recognized for leadership in corporate sustainability by the global environmental non-profit extra-financial agency CDP. Achieving an ‘A’ score and maintaining a position on the prestigious ‘A List’ for addressing climate change, Nexans reaffirms its dedication to environmental responsibility.

This recognition marks a significant milestone in Nexans’ journey towards sustainable electrification. The company’s unwavering commitment to climate action and environmental transparency. Noteworthy progress has been made, with this year’s achievement showcasing a commendable advancement from the ‘A-‘ rating in 2022 and 2021. Building on the initial ‘A’ rating in 2020, Nexans demonstrates a consistent commitment to climate action and environmental transparency.

Nexans’ consistent engagement to enhancing its methodology and turning commitment into action has played a crucial role in its success. The progression from ‘A-‘ to ‘A’ underscores Nexans’ proactive approach in comprehending and tackling the challenges presented by climate change, showcasing ongoing improvements.

In parallel, Nexans has made substantial advancements in its EcoVadis rating, increasing its previous score by 2 points, to reach 80/100. The enhancement observed reflects Nexans’ dedication to consistently improving its sustainable development practices. By upholding its “A” rating on the MSCI front, Nexans reasserts its steadfast commitment to achieving excellence in ESG topics.

While celebrating the achievements of 2023, Nexans remains focused on continuous improvement and to maintain and elevate its position on the global stage.

• Alcoa will supply Nexans with low-carbon aluminum rod that will contain metal from the breakthrough ELYSIS™ technology.
• ELYSIS™ is a partnership company that is ramping up a process that eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional smelting process, emitting oxygen as a byproduct.
• Aluminum rod produced from ELYSIS™ technology will have lower CO2 emissions.

Nexans and Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announce today that Alcoa will supply Nexans with aluminum rod produced from a revolutionary process that eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from the traditional smelting process.

Nexans will be the world’s first cable manufacturer to use metal from the breakthrough ELYSIS™ process, which replaces all greenhouse gas emissions with oxygen. The technology uses proprietary materials, including inert anodes, first developed at the Alcoa Technical Center near Pittsburgh. That research and development work became the technological basis for ELYSIS™, a technology partnership that is working to ramp up the process to commercial scale.

Several Nexans facilities in Western Europe and Scandinavia will use aluminum produced from the ELYSIS™ process to start qualifications for the metal’s use in various types of cables, from low, medium to high voltage. Aluminum rod produced with this breakthrough ELYSIS™ technology could eliminate a significant portion of carbon dioxide emissions in the future.

This latest announcement further builds on the two companies’ historic long-term relationship. Alcoa already supplies Nexans with EcoLumTM, a primary aluminum with a carbon footprint that is nearly three times lower than the industry average.1

Since the launch of ELYSIS™ in 2018, the technology company has produced R&D quantities of the metal. Alcoa is marketing and selling its share of the ELYSIS metal, which has also been used for the wheels on the Audi eTron GT, the automaker’s first electric sports car. Apple is also an investor in the technology and has used ELYSIS metal for some of its products.

ELYSIS is a key component in Alcoa’s technology roadmap of research and development projects that also includes projects such as the ASTRAEA™ metal purification process and the Refinery of the Future.

This agreement fully highlights Nexans’ position at the forefront of the sustainable electrification of the world and of crucial issues such as low-carbon emissions.

Nexans informs that the French Competition Authority is carrying out searches at three Nexans sites in France today.

The searches are part of an investigation in the sector of distribution of energy cables in the territory of DOM-TOM.

Nexans is cooperating with the French Competition Authority.