Cooper and Danaher complete joint venture
Cooper Industries plc and Danaher Corporation today announced the completion of the joint venture combining Cooper's Tools business with certain tools businesses from Danaher Corporation's Tools and Components segment.
The joint venture, which was previously announced in March 2010, will be named Apex Tool Group, LLC. Under the joint venture agreement Cooper and Danaher each will own a 50% share of the new company and have equal representation on the joint venture's Board of Directors. Steve Breitzka, former president Danaher Tool Group, will lead the joint venture as chief executive officer.
"We are extremely excited about the creation of this global tools business with Danaher, which we expect to deliver long-term value creation to our shareholders, customers and employees. We are confident that the joint venture's management team will successfully capitalize on the synergies that are inherent in combining these two businesses. Cooper will continue to focus on growing our core electrical products business by executing on our organic growth initiatives of customer loyalty, innovation and globalization and utilizing our exceptionally strong balance sheet for strategic acquisitions," said Cooper Industries chairman and chief executive officer Kirk S. Hachigian.
It is anticipated that Cooper will recognize a net after-tax loss in the second quarter of 2010 related to the transaction currently estimated at approximately $90 million or 53 cents per share.
Apex Tool Group is headquartered in Sparks, Md. Steve Simms, a former executive vice president with Danaher Corporation, is chairman of the board of Directors. The new leadership team for Apex Tool Group includes both Cooper and Danaher executives.
Apex Tool Group markets some of the leading brands in the tool industry worldwide, including Allen, Apex, Armstrong Tools, Campbell, Cleco, Crescent, Erem, GearWrench, H.K. Porter, Jacobs Chuck, Jobox, K-D Tools, Lufkin, Nicholson, Plumb, Sata, Weller and Wiss, among others and manufactures several industry leading private label brands for large retailers and industrial distributors.
"The closing of this joint venture marks the beginning of two great companies now operating as one. This enables us to move full steam ahead on our vision to provide a broader array of hand and power tools to a more diverse range of end users in automotive and industrial assembly and repair, contractor trades, as well as do-it-yourself consumers," said Breitzka. "By combining our resources, we expect that Apex Tool Group will deliver even greater new product innovation to our customers and the industry."
It has facilities in more than 30 countries and 7,600 employees worldwide.
"We've been working hard to minimize any disruptions to our customers since announcing the agreement to join forces back in late March and will begin to explore collaborative opportunities now that we are officially Apex Tool Group," said Breitzka. "We are committed to maximizing value for our customers and making it easy to do business with our company."
Current Apex Tool Group customers will continue to purchase products and receive customer service through their existing contacts. Over the next few months, the company will work with its customers to streamline processes as the new organization evolves. The newly formed company also unveiled a new corporate logo and Web site. For more information about the new company, please visit www.apextoolgroup.com.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
