Marriage Bell Blues: Wall Streeters Blow Chance To Ask About Procter and Gamble Acquistitions

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Shameless voyeurs that we are, we thought we'd drop in on Procter & Gamble's conference call for investors this week to see if P&G would offer any hints about its rumored acquisition of Newell Rubbermaid or Clorox Corp. Well, you can't say we don't go the extra mile for our readers. Enduring an hour and 41 minutes of talk of product mix, pricing, market share and consumer value, your loyal servant was utterly let down by the Webcast hosts. Most disappointing of all was that the dozen or so Wall Street analysts who had the privilege of grilling CEO Bob McDonald blew the chance and didn't ask a single question about acquisitions, not even hypothetically. Our Web site traffic tells us there is great interest in a possible P&G buyout of Newell Rubbermaid, which has a product line somewhat complementary to P&G's, but employees, regular stockholders and snoops like us don't get to ask questions on these conference calls. So it looks like we're going to be in the dark for a while longer. In his discussion of growing market share in other countries, McDonald did say one thing that could be interpreted as being acquisition-ready: "Getting the portfolio right is strategic, and we're working to do that so we can touch and improve more lives ... That's our focus." Hmm, touching and improving more lives. So while P&G is selling Pampers, Charmin and Downy to those moms in India and China, it might be thinking it could improve their lives even more by selling them Graco baby strollers, baby swings and digital baby monitors from Newell Rubbermaid. To some, it makes total sense.

Newell Rubbermaid Board Member Works For Unilever: How Does That Play Into Takeover Rumors?

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- As Wall Street ponders published rumors that Procter & Gamble is interested in buying Newell-Rubbermaid, one member of Newell's board of directors is wearing an interesting second hat. He is a top exec with P&G's global archrival. Michael Polk's second hat is that of Unilever PLC. Polk (see photo) is president of the London-based consumer goods conglomerate's $18 billion Americas unit, meaning he has profit-and-loss responsibility for Unilever's business in North and South America. The biggest thorn in his side? Probably Procter & Gamble of Cincinnati. As TheFlyOnTheWall reported in an unsourced piece last week, the P&G and Newell boards are reportedly talking buyout. If that's the case, is Polk sitting in on those talks? Insider-trading laws would prohibit him from tipping off his bosses at Unilever about a P&G purchase of Newell at, say, $21 a share, or a 50 percent premium over Newell's current stock price. Tempting as it might be to curry favor with his superiors, Polk would no doubt keep his lips zipped. Or maybe he's recused himself. Or just leaves the room. Or maybe there aren't any talks. But you can see P&G and Unilever squaring off every day on the shelves of Wal-Mart, Target and Kroger. Among Unilever's many brands are Dove, Suave, Q-Tips, Vaseline, Snuggle, Pond's and CloseUp. There don't appear to be any rumors that Unilever is interested in Newell Rubbermaid, whose board of directors is listed here. If anybody wants to share anything about a P&G marriage with Newell, please get in touch. Give us some insight. This is what Polk's bio looks like (from the Newell website):

Michael B. Polk
Elected 2009
Michael B. Polk is President of Unilever Americas with responsibility for $18 billion in combined North America and Latin America sales. Since joining Unilever in 2005, Mr. Polk has streamlined the company's Americas organization and optimized the diverse mix of food, hygiene and personal care items in Unilever's product portfolio. He is credited with accelerating growth and profitability by improving efficiencies and encouraging the flow of ideas and product innovations across borders. Under Mr. Polk's leadership, Unilever was named Wal-Mart's Supplier of the Year in 2008. Before Unilever, Mr. Polk held positions of increasing global responsibility during 18 years at Altria Group, culminating in the role of Group Vice President and President, Nabisco Biscuit & Snacks with a $5.5 billion portfolio of brands. He was responsible for the integration of Nabisco into Kraft Foods, which required merging Nabisco's in-store merchandising system, leveraging Kraft's branding power and restructuring manufacturing operations. While at Altria he also led Kraft's Asia/Pacific Region and Kraft's U.S. Post Cereal Division.Mr. Polk began his career at Procter & Gamble in industrial engineering and product development. He is a board member of the Retail Industry Leadership Association, and has been named to Business Week magazine's "CEOs of Tomorrow" list and the "Power 50" list in Supermarket News. A graduate of Cornell University, he also holds an MBA from Harvard University

Wooster Ohio's Revenge: P&G May Be Ready To Swallow Company That Gobbled Up Rubbermaid

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Wooster is a small Ohio town that was punched in the gut when Rubbermaid Corp. was bought in 1998 and the prized corporate headquarters went dark. Thousands of blue and white collar jobs were flushed. If there is any truth to the published rumor that (TheFlyOnTheWall) Procter & Gamble is making a bid for Newell Rubbermaid, the merger ceremony would have the flavor of a reunion. Rubbermaid returns to Ohio ownership (though not likely to Wooster), and some former top P&G execs restore their ties to Cincinnati. Newell Rubbermaid's CEO, Mark Ketchum, spent 33 years at P&G before retiring in 2004. Newell Rubbermaid's top marketing exec, Ted Woehrle, put in 24 years as a P&Ger before jumping to Newell in 2007. Both reached the apex of their P&G careers under retired CEO A.G. Lafley. And both rose through the ranks alongside P&G's current CEO, Bob McDonald.

Newell Rubbermaid is based in Atlanta. It still makes Rubbermaid branded items, along with Calphalon, Graco, Goody, Levelor, Sharpie and the tool brands Irwin and Lenox. P&G appears primed for an acquisition -- it's sitting on about $6.3 billion in cash and McDonald -- who moved into the CEO's office last July -- could be ready to pull the trigger on a big deal. Here's what TheFlyOnTheWall said last week: "It is believed that the boards of both companies met earlier, and Newell is looking for at least $21-22 per share."

At this point, Wall Street hasn't put much on the rumor. Newell Rubbermaid closed at $14.47 Friday; hardly a bump. Last month, P&G reportedly was ready to swallow Clorox Corp., a company it divested in 1969. That reunion hasn't happened. Clorox is filled with a lot of ex-P&Gers. Its CEO, Donald Knauss, began his career at P&G and, like McDonald, is an Indiana native. Executive VP Frank Tataseo spent 17 years at P&G, chief marketing officer Thomas Britanek 13 years and senior VP Benno Dorer 14 years.