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Stanley Black & Decker hasn’t confirmed news that it was bidding on Sears’ Craftsman tool business, but the company has announced a different major acquisition.
This week, Stanley reported it is buying Newell Brands’ tool business. This includes industrial cutting, hand tool and power tool accessory brands Irwin and Lenox. Newell is headquartered in Atlanta and owns a variety of brands, including Elmer’s, Sharpie, Rubbermaid and Oster.
Stanley is paying $1.95 billion in cash for a business that “is an important step in our quest to further strengthen our presence in the global tools industry,” president and CEO James M. Loree says. The purchase is the company’s first major acquisition since 2013, he says.
“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,” Loree says.
Earlier this month, Stanley Black & Decker, Hong Kong’s Techtronic Industries Co., Apex Tool and Husqvarna had reportedly expressed interest in buying Sears’ Craftsman tool business, according to Bloomberg. The price tag associated with a Craftsman deal was very similar to the Newell Tools selling price—about $2 billion, the Bloomberg article says.
Due to the Newell Tools purchase, Stanley might be “out of the running for a Craftsman deal,” Bloomberg reports this week.
