Fiber-optic solutions provider is set to buy CommScope’s broadband connectivity and cable unit.

Amphenol is nearing a deal to buy CommScope’s broadband connectivity and cable unit, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal would be valued at roughly $10.5 billion, including debt.

CommScope shares rose 51% in premarket trading.

Amphenol is closing in on the business as it sees rampant demand for data centers that require its technologies and a big need for fiber-optic cables to power high-speed internet and data transmission. 

The details

The transaction could be completed as soon as Monday, assuming no last-minute snags, the people said. A number of big strategics and private-equity firms had been pursuing the unit, known as CCS.

Amphenol, based in Connecticut, is a designer of so-called interconnect products, fiber-optic connectors, antennas, sensors and specialty cables. These are used across industries, from aerospace to information technology. Amphenol has a market value of about $125 billion.

North Carolina-based CommScope is a global infrastructure provider for communication, data-center and entertainment networks. The company had a market value of about $1.7 billion on Friday, after its share price has jumped about 50% year to date.

The CCS business provides fiber-optic and copper connectivity cables for cable television, residential broadband networks and data centers, among other things. It is CommScope’s biggest division by sales and operating income, bringing in $2.8 billion in net sales in 2024, according to an annual report.

The context

CommScope has been burdened by a heavy debt load and has used divestitures to help pay down liabilities. Waning customer demand for some of its offerings and other macroeconomic headwinds have also weighed on performance. 

Earlier this year, it sold its mobile-networks businesses to Amphenol for more than $2 billion.

Last year, Amphenol bought the Carlisle Interconnect Technologies division of Carlisle Cos. for a little over $2 billion. CIT’s products are used primarily in the commercial air and defense markets. 

A boom in artificial intelligence and heightened demand for data centers has boosted Amphenol’s business as more companies seek to use its products. The CCS deal would be Amphenol’s largest acquisition to date.