Consumer products maker Newell Rubbermaid buying competitor Jarden

In a move that merges such famous housewares and consumer products brands as Rubbermaid and Sharpie markers with Sunbeam, Newell Rubbermaid Inc. is acquiring rival Jarden Corporation for more than US$15 billion in cash and stock.

The combined company will be named Newell Brands, and is expected to have annual revenue of about US$16 billion.

Michael Polk, Newell Rubbermaid’s chief executive, will lead the firm, while Newell Rubbermaid chief development officer Mark Tarchetti will become president.

“The scale of our combined businesses in key categories, channels and geographies creates a much broader canvas on which to leverage our advantaged set of brand development and commercial capabilities for accelerated growth and margin expansion,” Michael Polk said in a statement.

Founded in 2001, Boca Raton, Fla.-based Jarden has grown to include more than 120 brands. They include Crock-Pot cookers, Marmot athletic gear, Aerobed inflatable mattresses and Sunbeam irons. Newell Rubbermaid, founded in 1903, has expanded through deals including pots-and-pans line Calphalon and Goody hair products. The company made its most significant purchase – Rubbermaid – in 1999 for about US$6 billion.

In a statement, the companies said they had identified US$500 million in cost cuts over the next four years.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.