EXHIBIT 99.1


WESCO logo      NEWS RELEASE
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                WESCO International, Inc. /
                Suite 700, 225 West Station Square Drive / Pittsburgh, PA  15219



                            WESCO INTERNATIONAL, INC.
                      ANNOUNCES PRICING OF PUBLIC OFFERING

             Contact: Stephen A. Van Oss, Senior Vice President and
                   Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
          WESCO International, Inc. (412) 454-2271, Fax: (412) 454-2477
                            http://www.wescodist.com


PITTSBURGH, PA, DECEMBER 17, 2004 - WESCO INTERNATIONAL, INC. [NYSE:WCC],
announced today that the public offering of its shares has been priced at $26.25
per share. The offering is for 10,000,000 shares of WESCO's common stock, of
which 4,000,000 shares are being offered by WESCO and 6,000,000 shares are being
offered by certain of WESCO's existing stockholders, including The Cypress Group
LLC. The underwriters have an option to purchase up to 1,500,000 additional
shares, of which up to 1,371,914 shares would come from The Cypress Group LLC
and up to 128,086 shares would come from WESCO. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Lehman
Brothers Inc. are acting as joint book-runners, and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc.
and UBS Securities LLC as joint lead managers, and Robert W. Baird & Co.
Incorporated and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. as co-managers.

WESCO intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of its common stock to repay
a portion of its outstanding 9-1/8% senior subordinated notes due 2008 through
redemption or repayment. Pending use, WESCO intends to reduce its borrowings
under its revolving credit facility, if any, and accounts receivable
securitization program. WESCO plans to repay a portion of its senior
subordinated notes with funds borrowed under these facilities. WESCO will not
receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the common stock in any state in
which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration
or qualification under the securities laws of any such state. A shelf
registration statement relating to the common stock that WESCO and the selling
stockholders intend to sell has previously been filed with, and declared
effective by, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any offer, if at all, will
be made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement,
forming a part of the effective registration statement.








Copies of the final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus, when
available, may be obtained from Goldman, Sachs & Co., 85 Broad Street, New York,
NY, 10004, Attn: Prospectus Department, telephone (212) 902-1171, or from the
Prospectus Department of Lehman Brothers, Inc., 745 Seventh Avenue, New York,
New York 10019, telephone (212) 526-7000.


                                      # # #

WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC) is a publicly traded Fortune 500 holding
company, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whose primary operating
entity is WESCO Distribution, Inc. WESCO Distribution is a leading distributor
of electrical construction products and electrical and industrial maintenance,
repair and operating (MRO) supplies, and is the nation's largest provider of
integrated supply services with 2003 annual product sales of approximately $3.3
billion. The Company employs approximately 5,350 people, maintains relationships
with 24,000 suppliers, and serves more than 100,000 customers worldwide. Major
markets include commercial and industrial firms, contractors, government
agencies, educational institutions, telecommunications businesses and utilities.
WESCO operates five fully automated distribution centers and approximately 350
full-service branches in North America and selected international markets,
providing a local presence for area customers and a global network to serve
multi-location businesses and multi-national corporations.

                                      # # #

The announcement of the offering of common stock by WESCO and the selling
stockholders is a forward- looking statement which is based on a number of
assumptions concerning future events made by management and information
currently available to management. WESCO undertakes no obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking statement.