Black & Decker
Newequipment 1716 Black Decker Toolbelt
Newequipment 1716 Black Decker Toolbelt
Newequipment 1716 Black Decker Toolbelt
Newequipment 1716 Black Decker Toolbelt
Newequipment 1716 Black Decker Toolbelt

Stanley Black & Decker to Buy Newell Tools for $1.95 Billion

Oct. 12, 2016
The consumer power tool maker has purchased Newell's tool brands to drill into the industrial cutting equipment market.

Author: Nick Turner

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. agreed to buy Newell Brands Inc.’s tools business for $1.95 billion in cash to expand in industrial cutting equipment.

The sale includes the Irwin, Lenox and Hilmor brands, Newell said in a statement Wednesday. The consumer-products company, which owns Elmer’s glue, Mr. Coffee brewers and Graco baby strollers, will use the proceeds to pay down debt, it said. The deal will add 15 cents a share to Stanley Black & Decker’s earnings in the first year after closing, the New Britain, Connecticut-based company said in a separate statement.

The acquisition will help broaden the reach of Stanley Black & Decker’s global tools and storage business, the company said. For Newell, the sale is part of an effort to slim down after its blockbuster  merger with Jarden Corp. in April. That deal created a company with $16 billion in sales and pushed Newell into new categories such as sports and outdoor products.

Irwin's Folding Lock Back utility knife has a Quick Change Button feature to make blade changes 50% faster.

Newell said this month that it will streamline its portfolio, turning 32 business units into 16 operating divisions. The company said at the time that it would divest about 10 percent of its products, including most of its tools division.

The process to sell the other brands is under way and Newell hopes to wrap it up in the first half of next year, the company said Wednesday. Those assets include the Voelkl and K2 winter sports brands, the heaters, humidifiers and fans business and the Rubbermaid consumer storage operations, Newell said.

Cutting Costs

Chief Executive Officer Mike Polk said when the Jarden merger was announced that he was aiming to squeeze $500 million in costs out of the business within four years. The company is moving its headquarters from Atlanta to Hoboken, New Jersey. Jarden had been assembled by Martin E. Franklin, who used acquisitions to build the company’s vast array of brands.

Newell shares have climbed 14 percent this year before Wednesday. They fell 1.9 percent to $50.34 in New York on Tuesday. Stanley Black & Decker, which is up 10 percent in 2016, fell 3.3 percent to close at $117.66.

The acquisition will lead to annual cost savings of about $80 million to $90 million after three years, Stanley Black & Decker said. The deal should close in the first half of 2017, it said.