Morning Market Roundup: Major Chemical Co. to Sell for $1.03B, Black & Decker to Sell for $1.4B, EU Data

Here’s what’s important in the business world this morning:

Stanley Black & Decker: Tool maker Stanley Black & Decker Inc. is selling its hardware and home improvement business to Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. for $1.4 billion in cash.

Spectrum Brands, based in Madison, Wis., said that the acquisition will broaden its product offerings which include the Rayovac, Remington and Toastmaster brands.

Stanley Black & Decker, which is based in New Britain Conn., said the sale is part of its ongoing strategy to diversify its revenue and geographic reach. The hardware and home improvement unit gets 90 percent of its revenue from North America and more than 50 percent of its revenue from U.S. home improvement stores.

Both companies' boards have approved the transaction.

Stanley Black & Decker anticipates the transaction will result in $1.3 billion in proceeds after taxes. It plans to use a majority of the proceeds to buy back shares and a smaller portion to reduce debt. The remaining proceeds, along with offshore capital, will be used to pay for its previously announced acquisition of Infastech, a Hong Kong company that makes fasteners.

Stanley Black & Decker says that the deal with Spectrum is not expected to change its financial outlook for 2012.

The deal announced Tuesday also includes certain assets of Taiwan's Tong Lung Metal Industry Co., which makes residential and commercial locksets. The Tong Lung buyout is anticipated to close in the second quarter.

Stocks: World stock markets mostly declined Tuesday against a backdrop of worries about global economic growth and Europe's debt crisis.

European stocks dropped in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 fell more than 0.2 percent to 5,827.72. Germany's DAX lost 0.4 percent to 7,259.02 and France's CAC-40 shed 0.1 percent at 3,403.30.

Wall Street appeared set to open only slightly lower, with Dow Jones Industrial index futures slipping less than a tenth of a percent to 13,495.00. S&P 500 futures lost 0.1 percent to 1,449.00.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 20,937.28 while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.1 percent to 1,979.04. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent to 4,505.30 on a positive consumer confidence report and hopes of upcoming interest rate cuts. Japan's Nikkei 225 index tumbled 1.1 percent to 8,769.59, reopening after a holiday. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand also fell.

Cytec: Chemical coating maker Cytec Industries Inc. says it has agreed to sell its coating resins business to private equity firm Advent International for $1.03 billion.

The deal also includes assumption of $118 million in debt. It is expected to close in the first quarter 2013.

Woodland Park, N.J.-based Cytec says the sale will allow it to focus on its high-growth areas of advanced materials and separation technologies, boosting returns for its shareholders.

The deal includes its radiation-cured resins, liquid coating resins, powder coating resins and amino crosslinkers product lines.

Cytec also says its board approved the repurchase of an additional $452 million in stock. That increases the company's total stock buyback authorization to $650 million. The company also says it plans to fund the buybacks with part of the cash proceeds from the sale of the coating resins business.

U.S. Futures: Stock futures are mixed as a new outlook on the global economic landscape provides the markets with fewer arguments to overlook what is likely to be a weak quarter for many of the biggest U.S. corporations.

Dow Jones industrial futures are up 5 points to 13,506. The broader S&P futures are flat at 1,450.50. Nasdaq futures are down 2.25 points to 2,775.25.

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that the globe is at risk of a broad recession. Those problems are spreading to developing nations that experienced surging growth during the last recession.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.