Sears Sells Craftsman Brand To Major Toolmaker

NEW YORK (AP) — Sears is selling its well-known Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker Inc., which plans to grow the tool brand by selling its products at more stores.

Currently, only 10 percent of Craftsman products are sold outside of Sears-owned department stores. Sears will continue to sell Craftsman products at its stores, including Kmart and Sears Hometown.

Stanley will pay about $900 million for Craftsman, which includes $525 million when the deal closes this year, $250 million after three years and a percentage of sales for 15 years. After 15 years, Sears will start paying Stanley 3 percent of the Craftsman sales it makes.

Shares of Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears Holdings Corp shares rose 7.5 percent to $11.14 before the stock market open Thursday.