Jacuzzi Brands Inc., West Palm Beach, FL, and its directors, which recently agreed to sell Jacuzzi’s plumbing products business to RBS Global Inc., the parent of Rexnord, have been named as defendants in two purported stockholder class-action lawsuits filed Oct. 13, 2006, in the Chancery Court of the State of Delaware.
The lawsuits allege that the directors have breached their fiduciary duties because they agreed to sell to a private equity firm, Apollo Management, which owns RBS and Rexnord. The complaints seek injunctive relief and damages.
Jacuzzi says the lawsuits are without merit.
With the acquisition of the plumbing products business of Jacuzzi, Zurn, Rexnord would add a new platform. Rexnord is a manufacturer of highly engineered power transmission, aerospace and other precision motion technology products.
Zurn focuses on the non-residential construction and replacement market for plumbing fixtures and fittings. It designs and manufactures plumbing products used in commercial and industrial construction, renovation and facilities maintenance markets in North America. The acquired business will operate as a separate platform of Rexnord, with facilities in six states.
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