The Legrand Group announced it has signed an agreement to acquire ICM Group of Montbard, France, the marketer of Cablofil brand (www.cablofil.com) welded wire cable trays. The acquisition is subject to approval by French regulatory agencies.

"By acquiring ICM Group and the Cablofil brand, Legrand achieves a global leadership position in the cable management systems market," says John Selldroff, president and chief executive officer of Legrand North America (www.passandseymour.com). "Strategic acquisitions such as this one, product innovation, and investment in sales and marketing drive Legrand's strong performance and growth."

In 2004, ICM Group had net sales of about $118 million. High demand for the Cablofil line drove the company's 14% annual growth rate for the last eight years, Legrand said in a release announcing the acquisition agreement. Approximately 60% of Cablofil revenue is generated internationally. ICM group has close to 500 employees and operates six manufacturing plants in Europe and the United States. Cablofil, with headquarters in Mascoutah, IL, employs 55 people in the U.S.

"The cable management segment of the market is growing rapidly, and together we are in an excellent position to meet this increasing demand," said Tim Place, president of Cablofil Inc. "This is a unique opportunity for our customers as well as our employees."

Cablofil provides support and protection to power and communications cables in both commercial and industrial buildings. While there is some product overlap between Cablofil and Wiremold/Legrand, neither company anticipates significant problems or customer concerns with the acquisition. There will be no near-term changes to product lines or the way Wiremold/Legrand and Cablofil go to market.