July 27, 2017 – In October last year we reported that Newell Brands Inc., parent company of Rubbermaid and Sunbeam, was looking to sell off its winter division including brands such as K2, owner of Madshus, along with other major brands such as Marker, Volkl, Full Tilt, Line and Ride. K2 Sports also owns Atlas and Tubbs snowshoes. Despite rumours that legendary Madshus from Norway may end up in Norwegian hands it was recently announced that Kohlberg & Company, a private equity firm based in New York, had acquired Newell Brands Inc.’s winter sports businesses. Kohlberg also owns Bauer Hockey and it’s expected to be business as usual at Madshus and the other brands – see official release below.

Newell Brands Announces Agreement to Sell Winter Sports Business
Hoboken, N.J. – Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE:NWL) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Winter Sports businesses, inclusive of Völkl®, K2®, Marker®, Dalbello®, Madshus®, Line®, Full Tilt®, Atlas®, Tubbs®, Ride® and BCA® to Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C., a leading private equity firm specializing in middle-market investing. The sale of the Winter Sports businesses is part of Newell Brands’ ongoing strategy to accelerate growth by simplifying and strengthening our portfolio.

Gross proceeds from the divestiture are expected to be $240 million, subject to customary working capital and transaction adjustments. Net sales for the divested business were approximately $330 million during 2016 and annual adjusted EBITDA for the divested business is approximately $25 million. The transaction is expected to close late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as financial advisor to Newell Brands on the transaction.

Additionally, Newell Brands has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Zoot® & Squadra® apparel brands in a separate transaction.

About Newell Brands
Newell Brands (NYSE: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Paper Mate®, Sharpie®, Dymo®, EXPO®, Parker®, Elmer’s®, Coleman®, Jostens®, Marmot®, Rawlings®, Oster®, Sunbeam®, FoodSaver®, Mr. Coffee®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products®, Graco®, Baby Jogger®, NUK®, Calphalon®, Rubbermaid®, Contigo®, First Alert®, Waddington and Yankee Candle®. For hundreds of millions of consumers, Newell Brands makes life better every day, where they live, learn, work and play.

About Kohlberg & Company
Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C. (“Kohlberg”) is a leading private equity firm specializing in middle-market investing. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized eight private equity funds, through which it has raised $7.5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its 30-year history, Kohlberg has completed 70 platform investments and more than 150 add-on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $10 billion. For more information, please visit www.kohlberg.com.