GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn., Oct. 4, 2004 (PRNewswire-FirstCall) -- Pentair Inc. has completed the sale of its Tools Group to The Black & Decker Corp. of Towson, Md., for approximately $775 million.
"The sale of our Tools Group to Black & Decker completes the transformation of Pentair into a diversified manufacturer led by a $2 billion water business," said Randall J. Hogan, Pentair chairman and CEO. "With all of our resources focused on the Water and Enclosures groups, we are now a stronger, more agile company with greater ability to achieve aggressive performance goals."
Pentair said that the proceeds from the sale of the Tools Group, together with borrowings from its existing revolving credit facility, were used to pay down the $850 million bridge loan associated with Pentair's July 31 acquisition of WICOR Industries. With the retirement of the bridge loan, Pentair's total debt to capital ratio drops below 40%, in line with Pentair's goals.
"We are executing our integration plans to achieve an estimated $30 million in net cost savings within the first full year," Hogan said. "We will continue to implement best practices to drive organic growth, to deliver innovative products and systems, and to further strengthen the brands, products and customer relationships that have been the cornerstones of success at Pentair and WICOR."
Hogan added that the integration activities to date have further strengthened his confidence in the combined businesses, including the capabilities of the management teams, the strong brand names, and the collective product offerings.
"We are aggressively pursuing opportunities to use our expanded scale, geographic breadth, and knowledge of the water markets to advance our global leadership position," Hogan said. "Our enhanced ability to provide competitively priced, high-quality products, increased customer responsiveness, and accelerated development of innovative new products gives us a significant advantage in achieving this goal."
Pentair said it is applying its strong cash flow to continue paying down debt and invest in its businesses for growth.
"Even while the integration of the former WICOR businesses is underway, we are capturing new organic growth in both our Water and Enclosures groups," Hogan said. "We will also continue to pursue opportunities to acquire additional water- or enclosures-related enterprises."
About Pentair Inc.
Pentair (www.pentair.com) is a diversified operating company based in Minnesota. Its Water Group is a global leader in providing innovative products and systems used worldwide in the movement, treatment, storage and enjoyment of water. Pentair's Enclosures Group is a leader in the global enclosures market, designing and manufacturing standard, modified and custom enclosures that house and protect sensitive electronics and electrical components. With 2003 revenues of $2.7 billion, Pentair has more than 13,000 employees worldwide.
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