Starboard Tells Newell Cut Costs Now, Divest Brands Later
The lion’s share of Newell’s problem is that the cost savings and synergies promised from the Jarden acquisition never happened, Starbard said in a presentation to the Newell board that calls for cost reductions to increase EBITDA by $585-966 million. Cutting “layers of redundant executives and vice presidents,” excessive T&E spending, and oversized IT, HR, finance and accounting departments would save between $339 million and $693 million. Overhauling the decentralized procurement process would save another $137 million to $200 million, and the remaining $49 to $73 million would come from the promised, but never executed, integration of the Newell Rubbermaid ... Log in to view full article.