Jarden to buy Yankee Candle for $1.75 billion

(Reuters) - Jarden Corp (JAH.N), known for its Mr. Coffee products, agreed to buy candle maker Yankee Candle Co Inc for $1.75 billion after private equity owner Madison Dearborn Partners LLC failed to sell for a higher price earlier this year.

Jarden, which sells Crock-Pot slow cookers and Sunbeam electric blankets, said on Tuesday it would fund the transaction with cash, common equity and a mix of bank debt and bonds.

The acquisition of Yankee Candle, the largest scented candle company in the United States, will bolster Jarden's branded consumables division, and adjusted cash flow on a pro-forma basis would have been about 25 percent higher in the 12 months to the end of June 2013, Jarden said.

The deal is expected to be accretive to Jarden's adjusted earnings per share by approximately 10 percent before synergies, Jarden added.

"Strategically, it fits well with Jarden's strategy of buying niche, seasonal, staple consumer brands, and should provide a number of cross-selling opportunities over time," Oppenheimer & Co analyst Joseph Altobello wrote in a note.

Yankee Candle, which also sells home fragrance products, car fresheners and candle accessories, was acquired by Chicago-based Madison Dearborn for $1.6 billion in 2006 and put up for sale earlier this year.

Other private equity firms balked at Madison Dearborn's price tag of at least $2 billion. If Madison Dearborn did not find a buyer, it had planned to float Yankee Candle in the stock market.

A person familiar with the matter said Madison Dearborn stands to return approximately two times its investors' money in Yankee Candle following the sale. Madison Dearborn declined to comment.

The cash deal, Jarden's first since April 2010, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Jarden's shares closed at $42.95 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, giving it a market value of $4.8 billion.

Barclays Capital (BARC.L) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) advised Madison Dearborn on the deal.

(Additional reporting by Krithika Krishnamurthy and Maria Ajit Thomas in Bangalore; Editing by Miral Fahmy, Joyjeet Das and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Original Article posted on Reuters and can be located here.

The Manufacturing Powerhouse States You Never Thought of

"In fact, the manufacturing of durable goods -- things that last longer than three years, such as cars, appliances or software -- grew by more than 9% nationwide in 2012, according the BEA. It was the leading contributor to growth in 22 states, the bureau said." ~ By Steve Hargreaves @hargreavesCNN

On the Left: Intel Microships out of Oregon.

On the Right: Ball Mason Jars from Jarden Home Brands in Indiana. 

Guess which state had a manufacturing boom last year? It's not in the Rust Belt, nor the South, and autos have nothing to do with it.

Oregon comes out on top. With Indiana following in 2nd place.
Manufacturing made up 39% of Oregon's GDP last year -- more than any other state:

Oregon's gross domestic product grew 3.9% last year, making it the third fastest-growing state economy after North Dakota and Texas, according to Commerce Department data released last week. Unlike those states, which benefited from an energy boom, Oregon drew about two-thirds of its growth from durable goods manufacturing.
Digging deeper into the data reveals a meteoric rise at a time when manufacturing activity was stagnant, or even declining, in more traditional manufacturing states.

About 15 years ago, manufacturing only accounted for about $9 billion, or 9%, of Oregon's economy. By 2012, it had risen to $74 billion, or a whopping 39% of Oregon's entire economic output -- the highest proportion of any state.

Oregon isn't large. By GDP, it ranks 25th in size among the 50 states. But its manufacturing sector has risen so rapidly that Oregon now ranks sixth in manufacturing output, surpassing even states like Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Original Article writter by By Annalyn Kurtz June 10, 2013 for CNN: Money and can be found HERE.