Well by now you have probably heard the major news,  Stanley and Black & Decker are merging and will now be called Stanley Black & Decker.  The news was announced November 2009, but today marks a major hurdle as the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review period has expired.  Now why they still have some major hurdles to get over before the merger can actually happen, this first hurdle is a major step forward.  If stock holders approve the deal and foreign regulatory approves the deal, you should see this new company take shape in the beginning of the second quarter of 2010.

The merger of these two companies will make one massive tool company that will cater to both the professionals and homeowners.  This company will incorporate names such as Stanley, Black & Decker, Fatmax, Dewalt, Bostitch, Porter Cable, Mac Tools, Facom, Emhart and more.

We haven’t heard of any layoffs from either company, but as you know with mergers these things can change.  The headquarers of the new company will be located in New Britain, CT, while the power tool headquarters will remain in Towson, MD.

Overall this merger looks like it will be successful and provide a powerhouse of a company.  As individual companies, they both had great distribution channels.  Combined their distribution channels only gets bigger.  As with other mergers in the past, only time will tell.