Jarden Corp. founder Martin Franklin is selling the company he used for the last 15 years to scoop up dozens of well-known household brands—and stands to collect a $500 million windfall.
Jarden on Monday said it would merge with Newell Rubbermaid Inc. in a $15.4 billion deal, combining names like Newell’s Sharpie markers and Baby Jogger strollers, and Jarden’s Rawlings baseball gloves and Mr. Coffee machines.
Newell will pay the equivalent of $60 for each Jarden share using a combination of cash and stock, representing a roughly 24% premium to where Jarden was trading before The Wall Street Journal reported the companies were in deal talks.
Mr. Franklin, the Boca Raton, Fla., company’s founder and executive chairman, said Jarden is being acquired because it is the smaller of the two companies.
“If we were larger…we would be doing the same deal and be the buyer,” Mr. Franklin said in a joint interview with Newell Chief Executive Michael Polk. While Jarden generated more revenue than its deal partner, Newell Rubbermaid had a higher market capitalization.
Shareholders of Atlanta-based Newell Rubbermaid will end up with 55% of the combined company, which will be named Newell Brands, with $16 billion in annual revenue. Mr. Polk will lead the merged entity.
By Serena Ng and Mark Maremont
Source: Wall Street Journal
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
