Danaher Corporation and Cooper Industries plc on March 26 announced they have reached an agreement to combine their respective tool businesses, Danaher Tool Group and Cooper Tools, in a joint venture. Cooper and Danaher will each hold a 50 percent ownership stake in the new joint venture and Danaher Tool Group executive Steve Breitzka will lead the new company as its president and chief executive officer. The company will be headquartered in Sparks, Md., and its board of directors will consist of six members with three members appointed by each of the parent companies. The leadership team will include both Cooper Tools and Danaher Tool Group executives. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close after securing the necessary regulatory approvals.
To be named in the coming weeks, the combined company will market some of the leading brands in the tool industry, such as 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.
The combined company will bring together two major manufacturers with complementary product offerings, distribution channels and geographic reach. Together, the combined company will provide a broader array of hand and power tools to a more diverse range of end users in the do-it-yourself, manufacturing and assembly, automotive, construction, and electrical trades.
For example, professional operators, mechanics and technicians in manufacturing production, assembly and maintenance organizations will have more product choice through national and independent distribution partners. The company will also sell its products to consumers through established partnerships with major global retailers. This includes private-label products and the companies' owns brands.
"Combining the strengths of each company is expected to translate into significant benefits for our collective customers across the globe," said Breitzka. "In addition to offering a wider and deeper line-up of leading tool brands, we expect to be better positioned to drive new product innovation - a hallmark of both businesses - with shared engineering resources."
"World-class quality, service and innovation are becoming increasingly important to our distributors and end users," said Laura Ulz, who currently serves as the president of Cooper Tools. "Size and scale are important in this industry and this combination will create a focused, global tools business with an improved ability to continue to meet the evolving needs of our professional and retail customers."
The companies expect that customers will be able to continue to purchase products and receive customer service through the existing channels.
For more information about the new company, visit www.cooperdanahertools.com.
About Danaher Corporation
Danaher, based in Washington, D.C., is a diversified technology leader that designs, manufactures, and markets innovative products and services to professional, medical, industrial, and commercial customers. Its portfolio of premier brands is among the most highly recognized in each of the markets it serves. Driven by the Danaher Business System, the company’s 47,000 associates serve customers in more than 125 countries and generated $11.2 billion of revenue in 2009.
About Danaher Tool Group
Danaher Tool Group is one of the largest worldwide producers of general purpose mechanics' hand tools, primarily ratchets, sockets, wrenches, and specialized automotive service tools for the professional and "do-it-yourself" markets. Danaher Tool Group has also been the principal manufacturer for several key retailers for many years. Typical users of the company’s products include professional automotive and industrial mechanics as well as "do-it-yourself" consumers. It markets tool products under its own brand names and also private-label products for certain customers.
About Cooper Industries
Cooper Industries plc is a global manufacturer with 2009 revenues of $5.1 billion, approximately 89 percent of which are from electrical products. Founded in 1833, Cooper's sustained level of success is attributable to a constant focus on innovation, evolving business practices while maintaining the highest ethical standards, and meeting customer needs. The company has eight operating divisions with leading market share positions and world-class products and brands including: Bussmann electrical and electronic fuses; Crouse-Hinds and CEAG explosion-proof electrical equipment; Halo and Metalux lighting fixtures; and Kyle and McGraw-Edison power systems products. With this broad range of products, Cooper is uniquely positioned for several long-term growth trends including the global infrastructure build-out, the need to improve the reliability and productivity of the electric grid, the demand for higher energy-efficient products and the need for improved electrical safety. In 2009, 61 percent of total sales were to customers in the industrial and utility end-markets and thirty-nine percent of total sales were to customers outside the United States. Cooper has manufacturing facilities in 23 countries as of 2009.
About Cooper Tools
Cooper Tools, a subsidiary of Cooper Industries plc, serves a multitude of global markets, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, hardware, industrial and volume retail. It offers a broad selection of application-oriented products, together with the teamed experiences of talented engineers and designers and quality-conscious production, customer service, and product development personnel. Cooper Tools provides meaningful productivity gains to its customers through the proper application of its many well-known brands of specialized industrial power tools, hand tools, chain and electronic soldering products.
