UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 3, 2017

General Cable Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

4 Tesseneer Drive

Highland Heights, Kentucky 41076-9753

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(859) 572-8000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2 below):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On December 3, 2017, General Cable Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), among the Company, Prysmian S.p.A., a company organized under the laws of the Republic of Italy (“Parent”), and Alisea Corp., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), providing for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company (the “Merger”), with the Company surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger (the “Effective Time”), each issued and outstanding share of common stock of the Company (each, a “Share”), except for certain excluded shares, will automatically be cancelled and converted into the right to receive $30.00 in cash, without interest (the “Merger Consideration”).

The board of directors of the Company (i) unanimously determined that the Merger is fair to, and in the best interests of, the Company and its stockholders, (ii) approved and declared advisable the Agreement and the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (iii) resolved to recommend adoption of the Agreement to the holders of Shares and (iv) directed that the Agreement be submitted to the holders of Shares for their adoption.

Consummation of the Merger is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified closing conditions, including (i) the adoption of the Merger Agreement by the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares entitled to vote on such matter at a meeting of the holders of Shares duly called and held for such purpose, (ii) the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, (iii) the adoption of a decision by the European Commission pursuant to Regulation (EC) 139/2004 of the European Union declaring that the Merger is compatible with the internal market; (iv) the approval by certain other requisite governmental regulators and authorities; (v) a thirty-day period beginning on the date the Company provides written notice to the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) of the Merger in accordance with the Non-Prosecution Agreement, dated as of December 22, 2016, between the Company and the DOJ (the “DOJ Agreement”), will have expired and the DOJ Agreement will remain in full force and effect, and (vi) other customary closing conditions, including (a) the absence of any law or order prohibiting the Merger or the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, (b) the accuracy of each party’s representations and warranties (subject to customary materiality qualifiers) and (c) each party’s performance of its obligations and covenants contained in the Merger Agreement.

The Merger Agreement includes customary representations, warranties and covenants of the Company, Parent and Merger Sub. The Company has also made certain covenants in the Merger Agreement, including covenants regarding the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries prior to the Effective Time. The Company has also agreed to a customary non-solicitation covenant in the Merger Agreement prohibiting the Company from (a) soliciting, providing information or engaging or participating in any discussions or negotiations regarding proposals relating to alternative business combination transactions, or (b) entering into an acquisition agreement in connection with such an alternative business combination transaction, in each case, except as permitted under the Merger Agreement (including a customary exception for the Company’s board of directors to consider certain unsolicited proposals relating to alternative business combination transactions received prior to the adoption of the Merger Agreement by the holders of Shares, but subject to Parent’s right to propose amendments to its transaction in response to any such acquisition proposal during a specified notice period).

The Merger Agreement may be terminated by each of the Company and Parent under certain circumstances, including if the Merger is not consummated by June 3, 2018 (subject to one 90-day extension that may be elected by either the Company or Parent if certain regulatory approvals required in connection with the Merger have not been obtained). The Merger Agreement provides for certain other customary termination rights for the Company and Parent, subject to the payment by the Company of a termination fee in the amount of $47 million in certain circumstances, including if the Company terminates the Merger Agreement in order to accept a superior proposal for an alternative business combination transaction of the type described in the relevant provisions of the Merger Agreement. The parties to the Merger Agreement are also entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of the Merger Agreement, and to specifically enforce the terms and provisions of the Merger Agreement.

The representations, warranties and covenants of each of the Company, Parent, and Merger Sub contained in the Merger Agreement have been made solely for the benefit of the parties to the Merger Agreement. In addition, such representations, warranties and covenants (i) have been made only for purposes of the Merger Agreement, (ii) have been qualified by confidential disclosures made by the Company in connection with the Merger Agreement, (iii) are subject to materiality qualifications contained in the Merger Agreement which may differ from what may be viewed as material by investors, (iv) were made only as of the date of the Merger Agreement or such other date as is specified in the Merger Agreement and (v) have been included in the Merger Agreement for the purpose of allocating risk between the contracting

parties rather than establishing matters as facts. Accordingly, the Merger Agreement is included with this filing only to provide investors with information regarding the terms of the Merger Agreement, and not to provide investors with any other factual information regarding the parties or their respective businesses. Investors should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any descriptions thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of the parties or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of the representations and warranties may change after the date of the Merger Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in the public disclosures by the parties or their subsidiaries. The Merger Agreement should not be read alone, but should instead be read in conjunction with the other information regarding the parties that is or will be contained in, or incorporated by reference into, the Forms 10-K, Forms 10-Q and other documents that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

The foregoing summary of the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Merger Agreement attached hereto as Exhibit 2.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On December 4, 2017, the Company and Parent issued a joint press release announcing entry into the Merger Agreement. The full text of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.

The information under this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, is being furnished under Item 7.01 and shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act on 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to liability of that section nor shall such information be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this communication, including, without limitation, statements regarding the proposed transaction, future financial results and performance, plans and objectives, capital expenditures, understanding of competition, projected sources of cash flow, potential legal liability, proposed legislation and regulatory action, and our management’s beliefs, expectations or opinions, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC. Forward-looking statements are those that predict or describe future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. You can generally identify forward-looking statements as statements containing the words “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “assume,” “seek to” or other similar expressions, or the negative of these expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.

Actual results may differ materially from those discussed in forward-looking statements as a result of factors, risks and uncertainties over many of which we have no control. These factors, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) the conditions to the completion of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied, or the regulatory approvals required for the proposed transaction may not be obtained on the terms expected or on the anticipated schedule; (2) the parties’ ability to meet expectations regarding the timing, completion and accounting and tax treatments of the proposed transaction; (3) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the transaction agreement between the parties to the proposed transaction; (4) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on our business relationships, operating results, and business generally; (5) risks that the proposed transaction disrupts our current plans and operations and potential difficulties in our employee retention as a result of the proposed transaction; (6) risks related to diverting management’s attention from our ongoing business operations; (7) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us related to the proposed transaction or the transaction agreement between the parties to the proposed transaction; (8) the amount of the costs, fees, expenses and other charges related to the proposed transaction; (9) general economic conditions, particularly those in the construction, energy and information technology sectors; (10) the volatility in the price of raw materials, particularly copper and aluminum; (11) the trading price of our common stock; and (12) other factors discussed from time to time in our reports filed with the SEC, including the factors discussed in Item 1A of the Company’s 2016 Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on February 24, 2017 and subsequent SEC filings, which are available at http://www.sec.gov.

Forward-looking statements reflect the views and assumptions of management as of the date of this communication with respect to future events. The Company does not undertake, and hereby disclaims, any obligation, unless required to do so by applicable securities laws, to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or other factors. The inclusion of any statement in this communication does not constitute an admission by the Company or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed acquisition of the Company by Prysmian S.p.A. In connection with the proposed transaction, the Company intends to file relevant materials with the SEC, including the Company’s proxy statement on Schedule 14A. STOCKHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE URGED TO READ ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, INCLUDING THE COMPANY’S PROXY STATEMENT, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain the documents free of charge at the SEC’s web site, http://www.sec.gov, and the Company’s stockholders will receive information at an appropriate time on how to obtain transaction-related documents free of charge from the Company. Such documents are not currently available.

Participants in Solicitation

The Company and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the holders of the Company’s common stock in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of the Company is set forth in the proxy statement for the Company’s 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 3, 2017. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the interest of such participants by reading the proxy statement regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.