Jarden Announces Planned Acquisition of Mapa Spontex Baby Care & Home Care Businesses

RYE, N.Y., Dec 16, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ --

Jarden Corporation (NYSE: JAH) today announced that it has made a binding offer to acquire the Mapa Spontex Baby Care and Home Care businesses of Total S.A. Under the terms of the offer, Jarden will pay approximately $500 million in cash, less any indebtedness assumed by Jarden.

Headquartered in Paris, France, Mapa Spontex is a global manufacturer and distributor of baby care and home care products with leading market positions in Europe, Brazil and Argentina in the core categories it serves. Its baby care portfolio includes teats, soothers, feeding bottles and other infant and health care accessories sold primarily under the NUK(R), Tigex(R), Lillo(R), Fiona(R) and First Essentials(R) brands. Its home care portfolio includes sponges, rubber gloves and related cleaning products for retail, professional and industrial uses sold primarily under the Mapa(R) and Spontex(R) brands.

"We believe Mapa Spontex will be an excellent strategic addition to our Jarden Branded Consumables segment," commented Martin E. Franklin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Jarden Corporation. "By entering the baby care and home care markets, we believe we will achieve two major strategic objectives. First, the transaction is expected to expand our product offerings and distribution channels into new, attractive categories; and second, we anticipate it will further diversify our revenue streams and increase our international presence. Mapa Spontex fits well within Jarden's disciplined acquisition criteria, with its market leading brands, strong management and good cash flow. We anticipate the transaction will be immediately accretive to earnings once closed."

Mapa Spontex's strong market presence in Europe, Latin America and North America is complemented by a global manufacturing base including facilities in Brazil, France, Germany, Malaysia and Spain. Mapa Spontex provides a platform for Jarden to further expand its global footprint and access new markets for existing products. With Jarden's substantial resources and focus on new product development, it is expected that the combination will lead to greater organic growth opportunities for many of Jarden's existing brands as well as those of Mapa Spontex. Additionally, NUK(R)'s position in infant care will provide Jarden the platform to enter the industry as a global market leader in its primary product categories and markets, with a particularly strong presence in Europe.

For the year ended December 31, 2008, sales for Mapa Spontex were approximately $800 million with Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $80 million. Upon closing of the transaction, the Mapa Spontex business will be reported within Jarden's Branded Consumables segment.

"This is our first meaningful acquisition since August 2007, as we have been focused on driving shareholder value through solid execution of our business strategy," concluded Mr. Franklin. "We believe the Mapa Spontex acquisition, once completed, represents an excellent long-term opportunity for Jarden to grow, innovate and continue to develop with an organization and leadership team that shares our philosophy."

The transaction is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2010, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, completion of required employee consultation procedures and other customary closing conditions. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as Jarden's financial advisor and Societe Generale acted as Total S.A.'s advisor.