Atlas Copco, a global industrial group of companies based in Stockholm, Sweden, said it plans to sell its electric tool business, which consists of two divisions: AEG Electric Tools, acquired in 1991, and Milwaukee Electric Tool, acquired in 1995. Sales are chiefly done under the Milwaukee brand, and two-thirds of sales are in North America, the company said.

“Atlas Copco's electric tool business is stable and profitable, and it has significant market shares, particularly in North America,” Göran Gezelius, senior executive vice president of Atlas Copco's Business Area Industrial Technique, said in a statement. “The business is, however, still far from the group's desired position of globally being No. 1 or 2 in the markets we serve.”

The synergies between the electric tool business and other businesses within the Atlas Copco Group are limited in distribution, manufacturing and product development, he said. Also, the selling process is different. While the electric tool divisions sell to industrial distributors and retailers, most other divisions sell directly to industrial end-users and only to a certain extent through distributors. For more information, visit www.atlascopco-group.com.