SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea's LS Cable Ltd. and Superior Essex Inc. of the United States said Wednesday they have agreed on a cash buyout by the Seoul-based company to create the world's third-biggest wire and cable manufacturer.

The companies said in a press release that LS Cable will acquire Atlanta-based Superior Essex by paying US$45 per share in a deal approved by the boards of both companies.

The deal, pending regulatory approval, represents a 50 percent premium over the year-to-date average closing price of Superior Essex common stock, the companies said.

''This transaction will make LS Cable a strong global competitor at the forefront of the ongoing wire and cable industry consolidation,'' LS Cable Chairman John Koo said in the release.

The agreement calls for a subsidiary of LS Cable to make a cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Superior Essex common stock for US$45 per share, which implies a total equity value of approximately US$900 million, the release said.

Keum Dong-hee, a spokeswoman for LS Cable, said that the implied value referred to Superior Essex.

After completion of the tender offer, a ''second-step merger'' will take place in which remaining Superior Essex shareholders will also receive US$45 per share, the companies said. Keum said that referred to shareholders who do not sell under the initial tender offer.

LS Cable expects to begin the tender offer on July 1, the same day LS Cable plans change its name to LS Corp., they said.

Unless extended, the tender offer will expire on July 31.

The combined company will have consolidated 2007 revenue of US$12.8 billion and become the world's third-largest wire and cable manufacturer, the companies said.

Superior Essex will continue to operate under its current name as a wholly owned subsidiary of LS Cable.

''LS Cable currently expects that there will be no changes in the operations or work force of Superior Essex as a result of the transaction and intends to run the company with its existing management and employees,'' the release said.