Actuant Corp., Milwaukee, this week announced plans to divest the Electrical products segment of its business. The company’s electrical operations were built through a string of acquisitions dating back to 1988 and include historic electrical industry lines such as Gardner Bender tools, Marinco and Mastervolt marine electrical equipment, Acme transformers and Turner Electric high-voltage switches. Its key markets are wholesale electrical, retail do-it-yourself, marine and industrial OEM. This segment, which had sales of approximately $325 million in 2012, employs approximately 1,000 people and operates from six locations across the globe with headquarters in Menomonee Falls, Wis.
A press release announcing the decision to sell the business said the company has retained Robert W. Baird & Co. to advise on the process. It plans to reclassify the segment to discontinued operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 and will take a write-down of $150 million on those assets in Q3 to reflect their “net realizable value.”
“The Electrical segment has a variety of premium brands and is a valuable asset,” said Robert Arzbaecher, chairman and CEO, in the release. ”We believe the sale of the segment would provide a buyer the opportunity to fully leverage the market leading positions and depth and breadth of the segment’s diverse electrical products and technologies. We will continue to operate the business, including executing its existing plans to grow revenues and profitability, during the divestiture process.”