ATLANTA, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Newell Rubbermaid Inc.
(NYSE: NWL) today announced that it has signed an agreement for the
intended sale of portions of its Home Decor Europe business to Hunter
Douglas, a global manufacturer and marketer of window treatments and
furnishings. The sale includes the businesses in Portugal and the Nordic,
Central and Eastern European regions. For the intended purchase of the
Central and Eastern European operations, Hunter Douglas would take a
minority position in a management buyout of those businesses. This sale
includes the largest portion of the total Home Decor Europe business, which
designs, manufactures and sells drapery hardware and window treatments
primarily under Gardinia(R) and other local brands. The company previously
divested its Home Decor operations in the United Kingdom and continues to
explore the potential sale of the remaining portions of the Home Decor
Europe business.
"This transaction demonstrates our commitment to increasing shareholder
value by narrowing our core businesses to those with big,
consumer-meaningful brands where investments in innovation and marketing
can best be leveraged to drive growth," said Mark Ketchum, chief executive
officer of Newell Rubbermaid.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to
receipt of financing by the purchasers and completion of all required
regulatory approvals, including consultation proceedings with works
councils, trade unions and employee representatives in the affected
countries. The intended sale will not affect the company's North American
Home Fashions business, which sells products primarily under the Levolor(R)
and Kirsch(R) brands.
The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Home Decor
Europe business was placed into discontinued operations in the quarter
ended June 30, 2006. This business was previously included in the company's
Home Fashions segment.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release that are not historical in nature
constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
relate to information or assumptions about the effects of Project
Acceleration, sales, income/ (loss), earnings per share, operating income
or gross margin improvements, capital and other expenditures, cash flow,
dividends, restructuring, impairment and other charges, potential losses on
divestiture, costs and cost savings and the value thereof, debt ratings,
and management's plans, projections and objectives for future operations
and performance. These statements are accompanied by words such as
"expect," "project," "will," "enable," "estimate" and similar expressions.
Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in
the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, our dependence on the strength
of retail economies in various parts of the world; competition with
numerous other manufacturers and distributors of consumer products; major
retailers' strong bargaining power; changes in the prices of raw materials
used by the company; our ability to develop innovative new products and to
develop, maintain and strengthen our end-user brands; our ability to
expeditiously close facilities and move operations in the face of foreign
regulations and other impediments; our ability to implement successfully
information technology solutions throughout our organization; our ability
to improve productivity and streamline operations; our ability to complete
divestitures of non-strategic businesses and strategic acquisitions; our
ability to integrate previously acquired businesses; the risks inherent in
our foreign operations and those factors listed in the company's most
recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, including Exhibit 99.1 thereto, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About the Company
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. is a global marketer of consumer and commercial
products with 2005 sales of $5.7 billion and a strong portfolio of brands,
including: Sharpie(R), Paper Mate(R), DYMO(R), EXPO(R), Waterman(R),
Parker(R), Rolodex(R), IRWIN(R), LENOX(R), BernzOmatic(R), Rubbermaid(R),
Graco(R), Calphalon(R) and Goody(R). The company is headquartered in
Atlanta, Ga., and has approximately 28,000 employees worldwide.
This press release and additional information about the company are
available on the company's Web site at http://www.newellrubbermaid.com.
NWL-AD
SOURCE Newell Rubbermaid Inc.
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CONTACT:
Nancy de Jonge Davis, Vice President,
Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, or Esther Lippman,
Senior Manager, Public Relations, of Newell Rubbermaid Inc.,
+1-770-407-3994, or fax, +1-770-407-3983
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