Newell starts shedding brands: sources

Newell Brands has already begun auctioning assets ahead of its annual meeting next month, when the company and Carl Icahn are expected to square off against activist investor Starboard Value, The Post has learned.

The owner of Mr. Coffee, Sharpie pens and Elmer’s Glue has hired banker JP Morgan and is starting to sell packaging manufacturer Waddington for more than $2 billion, sources said.

“Newell is moving quickly on a bunch of assets,” a banker said. “JP Morgan and Goldman were hired to begin auctions for different brands.”

Newell’s annual meeting is May 15, and has said it is planning to sell brands for an estimated $10 billion.

On Friday, Newell published its proxy card in support of Icahn’s nominees, and took a shot at Starboard.

“Prior to launching their original campaign to replace the entire Newell Board, Starboard could have reached out to management to ask questions.

“But instead, Starboard chose to rely upon [former Newell director] Martin Franklin’s version of recent events ... and failed to seek any other company views.

“Even when Starboard did have Franklin as part of their team, their plan was based on a dated business model that relied upon an acquisition led strategy that was fueled by an entirely different retail ... environment.”

Franklin was chief executive of Jarden, which he sold to Newell in 2016.

“The idea that the way the business has been run over the last 18 months is somehow better than Jarden was run is laughable,” Franklin told The Post. “And every shareholder knows it.”

Starboard nominated Franklin to the board, but Franklin withdrew after Newell in March added Icahn’s nominees.

Franklin has supported fixing the brands before selling some of them.