Doug Schmidt Blog & Writings

Black & Decker II: The Death of Black & Decker

The nagging question about the “merger” of Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK) and The Stanley Works (NYSE:SWK) is, “Why is this happening?”  Why is Black & Decker disappearing (becoming a division of Stanley) at the beginning of an upturn in the market?  Why is the company selling for a modest premium?  Why are shareholders […]

Black & Decker I: How Our System Rewards Failure

Black & Decker Corporation (NYSE: BDK), based in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, announced in early November that it was merging with The Stanley Works (NYSE:SWK) based in Connecticut.  As per the usual script, this “merger” was hailed as a great step forward for Black & Decker.  Black & Decker shareholders would receive (in stock […]