Sharpie, Mr. Coffee now have the same Atlanta parent

Newell Brands, Jarden shareholders approved the agreement Friday.

Shareholders at Newell Brands and Jarden Corporation made it official Friday: Mr. Coffee and Sharpie are now family.

Atlanta-based Newell Brands announced in December it was buying Jarden, the owner of such brands as Coleman and Sunbeam, for $15.4 billion. Jarden shareholders will receive $21 in cash and 0.862 of a Newell share for each share of Jarden stock they hold.

Shareholders for both companies approved on Friday.

Newell Brands — formerly known as Newell Rubbermaid — said the agreement will create a $16 billion global consumer goods company whose portfolio also will include Coleman, Elmers, and Rubbermaid among many others.

That will not translate into new jobs in metro Atlanta. In an interview, Newell CEO Michael Polk said he plans to keep staff in their respective places, especially as many of its brands are spread across the country in places like Charlotte, Miami, Massachusetts and Atlanta.

“I think it is risky to move people around,” he said. “You end up losing talent doing that.”

In fact, as shareholders were making their decision Friday, Newell employees in Atlanta were preparing to move into smaller digs in Sandy Springs on Monday, a space Polk said was half the size of their current home.

Both companies have been growing, Polk said. Jarden sales were up 4.8 percent last year while Newell’s grew 5.5 percent.

But changes are afoot. In March, the company said it had agreed to sell its decor business — chiefly Levolor blinds and Kirsch window coverings — to Hunter Douglas for $270 million.

And Polk would not say if others would be sold off. But he said of the 100 or so brands under the paired companies, about 30 are the strongest, including Sharpie pens, Yankee candles, Oster appliances, Graco baby products and sporting goods Rawlings.

“Both companies come to the combination with leading levels of growth,” Polk said.