Stanley Black & Decker Inc., which has been selling assets to focus on its core building products business, is exploring a sale of a unit that makes excavator buckets for construction equipment, according to people familiar with the matter.
The New Britain, Conn.-based company is working with financial advisers to seek buyers for its International Equipment Solutions Attachment Group, or IES, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public.
Deliberations are at an early stage, no final decision has been made and Stanley Black & Decker could opt to hold onto the unit, the people said. A representative for Stanley Black & Decker didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Stanley Black & Decker, with a relatively new management team, is seeking to redefine itself as a pure-play building products company while also seeking to cut costs, pay down debt and transform its supply chain, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Divestitures have been part of the turnaround plan, with the company agreeing in recent years to unload its oil and gas and entrance solutions businesses, among others.
IES provides attachments such as buckets, mulchers, hay grapples, forks and other products that are hooked up to big trucks and tractors for off-highway construction, according to its website. Its brands include Paladin, Genesis and Pengo. Stanley Black & Decker acquired IES in 2018 for $690 million.
Shares in Stanley Black & Decker have fallen by more than a third in New York over the last 12 months, giving the company a market value of about $11.5 billion.
