Hilmor, Irwin, Lenox Brands to be Acquired by Stanley Black & Decker

Acquisition enhances its tools portfolio

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Newell Brands Inc. announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Tools business, including the Hilmor®, Irwin®, and Lenox® brands, to Stanley Black & Decker for $1.95 billion. Newell said this agreement has been reached due to a series of strategic changes announced last week related to the company’s new corporate strategy.

“Newell Brands’ new strategic plan establishes a sharp set of portfolio choices and investment priorities that will focus resources on the businesses with the greatest potential for growth,” said Michael Polk, Newell Brands chief executive officer. “The actions we are taking will strengthen the underlying performance of the company and help unlock the unique opportunity for transformative value creation connected to the combination of Newell Rubbermaid and Jarden Corporation. While our Tools brands have been very good contributors to our results, we believe they will benefit from being part of Stanley Black & Decker, a global leader in the tools category.”

Stanley Black & Decker noted that Newell Tools is an industry leader with an array of strong brands and products that are highly complementary to its products. Newell Tools is expected to enhance the offerings and broaden the reach of Stanley Black & Decker’s global tools and storage business. Newell Tools has a global manufacturing footprint, maintains strong distribution relationships in its markets, and has more than 2,500 employees around the world.

James M. Loree, Stanley Black & Decker’s president and chief executive officer, said, “Newell Tools is an important step in our quest to further strengthen our presence in the global tools industry. The addition of the iconic Lenox brand and very strong Irwin brand, as well as their associated power tool accessory and hand tool products, opens up exciting new sources of global growth in similar ways, albeit on a smaller scale, to what Black + Decker did in recent years. Thus, the acquisition of Newell Tools, our first major acquisition since 2013, will provide both a source of inorganic growth in year one and an organic boost thereafter. SFS 2.0, our operating system, with its growth enhancing elements of digital excellence, commercial excellence, and breakthrough innovation will also be deployed to rev up organic growth. This transaction, with our multi-faceted approach to revenue expansion, is entirely consistent with our strategy of driving above-market growth in a low-growth world.”

Stanley Black & Decker expects the transaction to result in annual cost synergies of approximately $80 to $90 million by year three.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the first half of 2017.

For more information on Newell Brands, visit www.newellbrands.com.

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