Newell Brands Consolidates Business Units; Plans To Sell 10% Of Portfolio

(RTTNews) - Consumer goods company Newell Brands Inc. (NWL) announced Tuesday its new growth game plan following a comprehensive strategic review of its business, aiming to sharpen strategic focus for accelerated growth.

The company has kept a number of businesses for sale, representing about 10 percent of the portfolio. The sale proceeds will be used primarily to accelerate debt pay down.

It includes the vast majority of the Tools Segment, the Winter Sports businesses within the Outdoor Solutions Segment, the Heaters, Humidifiers, and Fans businesses within the Consumer Solutions Segment, and the Consumer Storage Container business within the Home Solutions Segment.

The total 2015 net sales of the businesses held for sale are approximately $1.5 billion, and include about $100 million of the $250 to $300 million of previously announced exits or assets held for sale.

The sale processes are underway and the company hopes to complete the divestiture of the assets held for sale within the first half of 2017.

Under the new changes, the company will transform from a holding company to an operating company. It will simplify its operating structures consolidating the existing 32 Business Units to 16 Operating Divisions, including the creation of a new global enterprise-wide e-Commerce Division.

The company would also create a platform for future acquisitions that strengthen and scale its core businesses.

The latest actions will not impact 2016 core sales or normalized earnings per share guidance, the company noted.